Malaysia’s Kenanga Investment Bank has announced a partnership with Singapore fintech firm Helicap to advance its digitalisation initiatives.
As part of the partnership, Kenanga — through a fund managed by its asset and wealth management Kenanga Investors — has collectively taken a stake of 8% in Helicap. The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
The Investment forms Helicap’s Series B funding round, which sees Kenanga as lead investor alongside Saison Capital, the corporate venture capital arm of Japan’s Credit Saison.
Subsequently, Kenanga’s stake will be further increased in the near future to approximately 10%, making it the largest institutional investor in Helicap.
Helicap is one of the first fintech private investment platforms specialising in Southeast Asia’s alternative lending space.
Kenanga group managing director Chay Wai Leong says the investment is a natural progression in its digital journey, as Helicap’s proprietary technology can potentially be embedded into Kenanga’s own lending and investment banking business. This could provide greater loan book transparency and analysis; portfolio and credit risk monitoring; as well as granular data to identify nascent opportunities and obtain microeconomic insights, he adds.
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The investment builds upon Kenanga’s broader digitalisation initiatives, following its successful investments into Rakuten, CapBay, Tokenize Malaysia and Merchantrade.
The deal also follows the launch of Kenanga Investors latest product suite, the Kenanga Alternative Series, which was marked by the introduction of the Kenanga Alternative Series: Income Opportunities Fund in July 2024. It feeds into the Helicap Income Opportunities Fund, an open-ended Asian private credit fund.
Since its establishment in 2018, Helicap, through its regulated subsidiaries, has deployed almost $500 million, offering investment opportunities in Southeast Asia to accredited and institutional investors.
