Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on April 16, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: As part of its plan to diversify its business, Vortex Consolidated Bhd says it is acquiring a firm with a moneylending licence for RM2 million.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, Vortex said it is buying Valhalla Holdings Sdn Bhd from Choo Peng Hung and Chan Chooi Teng. Choo is a director and major shareholder of both Vortex and Valhalla. Meanwhile, Chan is the spouse of Choo, and also a director and major shareholder of Valhalla.

Valhalla is the holding company of Valhalla Capital Sdn Bhd, which has obtained a moneylending licence from the government for a two-year period ending Oct 31, 2020.

Vortex had previously said it wants to diversify its business to reduce reliance on its existing business in the ICT and construction sectors.

"The board believes that the moneylending business would provide another revenue source to Vortex group’s existing business as well as to reduce Vortex group’s dependency on the existing business,” the group said in yesterday’s filing.

Separately, Vortex said it is also planning to diversify into the financial institution and services (FI) business through the incorporation of new subsidiaries with a team of industry professionals on board.

“There are already plans to grow this new division into a full-fledged FI outfit with [a] regional presence with involvement in the areas of asset management, investment banking and offshore banking,” the group said in a statement.

Vortex said it had secured the active participation of Michael Lim, 51, who has more than 24 years of banking experience in consumer banking, corporate banking, investment banking and client coverage across the region. Lim was appointed an executive director in the group and has also triggered substantial shareholding in the group.

“As the financial industry continues to grow, we believe that we will be able to provide financial-related services to cater to the different needs and demands in the targeted sectors, especially foreign investors who are keen to capitalise in the country,” said Lim.

“To help grow and build this new set-up, I will also be introducing people with vast experience in banking and regulatory industry to the group with a vision to turn this business into a full-fledged financial institution providing services ranging from commercial moneylending, asset and fund management and Labuan offshore investment banking,” he added.

Shares in Vortex closed up half a sen or 2.86% yesterday at 18 sen, giving it a market capitalisation of RM57.33 million.

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