BWI crowdfunding campaign breaks FDI record

KUCHING: Borneo Waste Industries Sdn Bhd (BWI) which launched its RM3 million equity crowdfunding (ECF) campaign on the Ata Plus platform has successfully received an investment of RM456,820 from a strategic investor from Germany. This is the largest single overseas investment into an ECF campaign to-date in Malaysia.

Established in November 2012, BWI is a waste management service provider based in Sabah with offices in Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

BWI executed a 30 year concession agreement with Dewan Bandaraya Kota Kinabalu ( Kota Kinabalu City Hall) to develop and operate an Integrated Waste Management Processing Plant (IWMPP) at the Kayu Madang Sanitary Landfill (KMSL) in Telipok, Sabah from April 2018 to April 2048.

In its ECF campaign, BWI has set a fundraising target of RM3 million and is scheduled to close by 18th March 2020 at the latest.

“We are extremely pleased to have met our funding minimum target in such a short span of time and to have secured a very strategic foreign investor. It can only augur well for the company and the rest of the ECF campaign moving forward,” BWI founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Raven Sockanathan said.

“We would really like to see Malaysian retail participation in the remainder of our ECF as we are anticipating an early and healthy exit for these investors within 12 months.”

Meanwhile, Ata Plus cofounder and director Kyri Andreou said that for Ata Plus, this is a marvellous achievement by a technology pioneering waste management company and relatively new entity.

“This not only speaks volumes for the vision of BWI, it is also a great vote of confidence for Malaysia’s ECF market and we are expecting to see more foreign investment into this asset class in 2020, “Andreou added.