This also comes on the back of the group divesting its corporate services business for $10.7 million, which resulted in a one-off gain of $6.8 million. This has helped strengthen the group’s balance sheet, bringing its cash and cash equivalents to $8.8 million post-completion of the transaction, up from $2.8 million as at Dec 31, 2025.
However, since listing in 2014, the group has not paid any dividends. In a press briefing on March 24, Kelvin Ng, group CEO of Zico, says: “We are looking at [giving out dividends]. Nothing is off the cards, but we want to create value and return certain value to shareholders. We are looking at all aspects.”
Fund launch
In addition to its improved books, Zico’s ZAM aims to launch its first-ever fund this year. ZAM saw a leadership change, with Pengiran Aziz bin Pg Hj Ali Hassan serving as CEO. Pengiran Aziz is a Bruneian national and capital markets veteran with experience at Brunei Investment Agency, Goldman Sachs, Wachovia Capital Markets, Standard Chartered Bank and Wells Fargo Securities.
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Under the new leadership, ZAM now specialises in asset management of hard real estate, digital infrastructure, logistics and private credit. Ng shares that the first fund will be a specific, real-asset “shariah-aligned” fund with an initial focus on data centre real estate.
Unlike strictly Shariah-compliant funds, Shariah-aligned funds have more leeway to be slightly less strict in their investments while still delivering higher yields.
The group already has a strong Shariah advisory team in Malaysia that has been established for about 20 years.
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In Ng’s view, investment products are either Shariah-compliant or non-compliant. “Shariah-aligned means that we are aligned with investors’ preferences. Some investors don’t need 100% because it is restrictive,” says Ng, adding that non-Shariah compliant investments that may be included in the Shariah-aligned fund may include, for example, airlines or hospitality players that may serve alcohol to guests. However, for instance, investments into gaming, which is considered strictly haram, will not be included in the fund.
Sponsor pipeline
Aside from the excitement around ZAM’s eventual fund launch, Zico Capital is also an issue manager, placement agent, and sponsor for local IPOs. Most recently, it was the sponsor for the IPOs of MetaOptics and Leong Guan.
Ng shares that the firm has three IPO mandates as of today, but does not confirm the listing timelines. “Some may not happen this year,” he says, adding today’s volatile landscape could be a factor in delaying listings.
However, he notes that the Equity Market Development Programme (EQDP) has sparked interest in the market and could bode well for the group in several respects, including its position as a listed entity on the Singapore Exchange and as an IPO sponsor.
While ZAM is just taking off with its focus on launching a Shariah-aligned real assets fund, Ng is also not discounting efforts to grab a chunk of the EQDP pie.
To recap, the government has thus far allocated $6.5 billion to the EQDP, with chunks of the fund dispersed to selected asset managers to launch funds that will help boost liquidity in the market and spur interest and activity in the local market. Thus far, $3.95 billion has been allocated to nine managers.
There may be hope of becoming a selected asset manager, but Ng is not worried. Already, the EQDP has done its job and the market is seeing positive changes. Liquidity has improved and several stocks have rallied. Even Zico has seen a noticeable improvement in its share price, gaining some 90% in the past 12 months to trade at 5.2 cents on March 25.
