Kenanga sees profit triples in 2Q on solid digital strategy
KUALA LUMPUR: Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd’s (Kenanga Group) profit before tax (PBT) was at RM25.9 million for the second quarter of 2020 (2Q20), an increase of three folds from same period last year.
In a press statement, Kenanga Group said it registered a net income of RM170.1 million for the quarter under review, a 46 per cent hike from corresponding period last year, mainly contributed by increased brokerage fees, trading and investment income as well as management fee income.
“It also recorded a share of profits from its joint venture company, Rakuten Trade and a reversal of credit loss provision.
It also noted that the recent market volatility has catalysed a surge in participation from local retail investors, fuelling record-high trading activities in the equities market.
Trading volume on Bursa Malaysia was recently reportedly to have swelled to a daily record of 26.65 billion, with the number of shares traded standing at RM9.05 billion – highest in the region.
“The last few months has truly validated our digital strategy which we embarked on a few years ago. Digitalisation has enabled us to support the recent resurgence in retail participation, and to capitalise on the bullish stock market sentiments.
“We are committed to fasttrack our pursuit of innovation to further transform operational effectiveness, elevate customer experience and to provide a robust allencompassing investing ecosystem for Malaysian investors,” commented Kenanga Group managing director Datuk Chay Wai Leong.
“With our prudent risk management practices and strong foothold in the retail market, we are well positioned to end the year on a positive note,” he added.
Amongst some of Kenanga Group’s recent digital successes include, its joint venture, Rakuten Trade, which registered over 60,000 new traders within the first six months this year to cross the 100,000 mark, charting record volumes traded in its wake.
Having one of Malaysia’s largest network of dealers and remisiers, Kenanga Group enabled its team of 1,000 dealers and remisiers to seamlessly operate from home, using the Kenanga remisier portal during the recent Movement Control Order (MCO).
Meanwhile, its first in the market algorithmic trading calls, which is available on Telegram, generates trading strategies for the retail segment.
Additionally, Kenanga has also recently received approval in principal from the Securities Commission Malaysia to roll-out a robo-advisory platform.
Underlining its commitment to pursue innovation, the Kenanga Group recently announced a partnership with award-winning digital supply chain financing company, Bay Group Holdings Sdn Bhd (CapBay), in a bid to transform the traditional factoring market in Malaysia.
The digital supply chain financing solution will grant quicker access to traditional and peer-to-peer financing, thus accelerating access to working capital financing for Malaysian entrepreneurs.