KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 2): Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd (KL:KENANGA) said on Monday it has acquired an 8% stake in Singaporean fintech firm Helicap Pte Ltd at an undisclosed price.

Helicap owns and operates an investment platform specialising in private credit in Southeast Asia, and the company has a proprietary credit analytics engine. For Kenanga, the acquisition is part of a move to further advance its own digitalisation initiatives, said group managing director Datuk Chay Wai Leong.

“Helicap’s proprietary technology can potentially be embedded into Kenanga’s own lending and investment banking business to provide greater loan book transparency and analysis, portfolio and credit risk monitoring and granular-level data to identify nascent opportunities and obtain microeconomic insights,” he said.

The investment by Kenanga through a fund managed by its asset management arm, Kenanga Investors Bhd, forms Helicap’s Series B funding round. Kenanga is a lead investor alongside Saison Capital Pte Ltd, the venture capital arm of Credit Saison, one of Japan’s largest non-bank financial companies.

Kenanga's stake could be further increased in the near future to about 10%, making it the largest institutional investor in Helicap.

The investment is the latest by the non-bank-backed investment bank in the fintech space. Kenanga has invested in online stockbroker Rakuten, supply chain financing platform CapBay, cryptocurrency exchange Tokenize Malaysia and money service business Merchantrade.

“Our enhanced partnership with Helicap will enable us to tap into its global network as a source of offshore capital as well as to facilitate deal co-origination and syndication efforts in both Singapore and Malaysia,” said Kenanga Investors chief executive officer Datuk Ismitz Matthew De Alwis.

The investment follows the launch of the Kenanga Alternative Series: Income Opportunities Fund in July, which feeds into the Helicap Income Opportunities Fund, an open-ended Asian private credit fund.

The partnership with Kenanga marks “a pivotal step in bringing Helicap’s investment opportunities to the Malaysian market”, said David Z Wang, a co-founder and the CEO of Helicap Securities.

Helicap has deployed almost S$500 million (RM1.66 billion) since its establishment in 2018, offering investment opportunities in Southeast Asia to accredited and institutional investors.