ALREADY reeling from the disappointment of not being granted Malaysia’s pioneering digital banking license despite deeming itself as being “uniquely qualified” ACE Market-listed technology outfit PUC Bhd seems to have borne the double whammy of being punished for its failure to land the much coveted prize so to speak.
At a glance, its share price plunge seemed to coincide with Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) revelation of Malaysia’s five pioneering digital licensees on April 29 (although market sentiment on the broader market has also been bearish across most global stock markets).
From 11 sen on the eve of the central bank’s announcement, PUC has drifted lower to close at 5.5 sen on Friday (May 13) which gave the counter a market capitalisation of RM89 mil. The counter has traded between a 52-week range of 4.5 sen and 21 sen.
But a fortnight down the road, PUC is now adamant that while the digital bank license would have been a significant component in the group’s overall businesses – especially to its Presto digital ecosystem – failing to clinch such license would not unduly impact its core business moving forward either.
“We remain resolute and committed … with the full backing and mandate from our shareholders, PUC shall continue to devote its suite of resources and expertise to firmly consolidate its position as a leading fintech solutions provider in Malaysia and regionally,” its group managing director and group CEO Cheong Chia Chou told FocusM.
“While we congratulate the five digital banking license awardees, we should also extend our utmost appreciation to all our partners, namely the state governments of Pahang and Sabah who have not only shared our vision and values but extended unwavering support throughout the application and bidding process.”
Against the backdrop of advanced digital ecosystem, encompassing e-commerce, logistics, e-wallet, loyalty, financing and payment solutions, Cheong further alluded that the group is in an ideal position of strength backed by its vast experience and capabilities to offer solutions to a thriving and vibrant digital ecosystem.
“The absence of a digital bank license does not hamper the group’s efforts to reach out to society, especially in serving the needs of the underprivileged and those in the B40 (Bottom 40%) community,” Cheong pointed out.
“This will be spearheaded by our wholly-owned subsidiary Presto Credit Sdn Bhd in collaboration with RinggitPlus (a financial comparison website by Jirnexu Sdn Bhd which is also linked to the KAF Investment Bank Bhd consortium which was named as one of the five digital banking licensees) to launch its digital money lending business.”
According to Cheong, Jirnexu would enable Presto Credit to acquire and perform marketing services, digital on-boarding services and credit scoring and advisory services.
Being one of eight companies selected by the Housing and Local Government Ministry to provide online license community credit, Presto Credit will also enable consumers to have credit facilities to purchase essential products and services within the Presto digital ecosystem.
Being one of Malaysia’s e-wallet pioneer, Presto will also continue to enhance and expand its already a wide range of payment services by continuing to aggregate more loyalty partners into its payment gateway, PrestoConnect.
Today, PrestoConnect aggregates multiple loyalty platforms including BonusLink and airasia rewards programmes by enabling seamless issuance and redemption of these loyalty points within the Presto digital ecosystem.
Initiatives being aggressively undertaken also include enhancing the group’s Q-commerce (or quick commerce) business in collaboration with its strategic partner FMX Sdn Bhd (an integrated supply chain solutions provider) which has led to the opening of three physical stores called PrestoMart Near U (PrestoMart) over the last two months to achieve a faster delivery network from manufacturer to consumer homes via an extensive last mile spoke and hub delivery network.
PrestoMart is positioned as a one-stop centre O2O store which not only offers international food, gadgetries and lifestyle products but also an exquisite parcel shipping experience by integrating the logistic industry, e-commerce fulfilment, and ultimate consumer satisfaction through a unified single platform via NearU where one can even rent a power bank to charge his/her electronic gadgets.
PUC remains on track with a target to open 600 PrestoMart outlets in Malaysia by end-2023 as well as to expand regionally to ASEAN countries.
Elsewhere, Cheong also clarified a recent audit opinion expressed by the company’s external auditor UHY with regard to its 33% associate Pictureworks Holdings Sdn Bhd (Pictureworks) whose financial audit for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2021 has not been completed to-date primarily due to the lockdown of the Shanghai area which prevented the completion of the audit of Pictureworks’ subsidiary, Pictureworks Shanghai.
“Except for China, particularly Shanghai which faces a relatively long lockdown that causes a delay which will be resolved soon in our financial report submission, theme parks around the region, especially in Hong Kong are slowly re-opening again and this gives a positive outlook to our imaging business via Pictureworks,” he justified.
To re-cap, PUC had completed its 33% acquisition of Pictureworks – a provider of imagery capture and distribution platforms for theme parks, leisure and entertainment industries – for RM52.8 mil in 2Q 2018.
Elsewhere, the group had on November 2021 inked an exclusive payment gateway and business supplies agreement with Easi – the third largest food delivery service in Malaysia – with this tie-up poised to be another sustainable area of growth. – May 16, 2022
