WZ Satu taps on moneylending business ahead of anticipated OPR hike

KUCHING: Civil engineering and construction specialist WZ Satu Bhd (WZ Satu) will be venturing into the highermargin moneylending business, with its executive chairman and president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria injecting his second private company into the group.

The diversification, which is timely in tandem with Malaysians’ rising appetite for borrowings, allows WZ Satu to focus on the under-served and under-tapped markets as well as bring synergy effects to the Group’s existing businesses including the proposed venture into property development.

This comes as WZ Satu entered into a conditional share purchase agreement with TIZA Global Sdn Bhd (formerly known as Citaglobal Sdn Bhd) for the proposed acquisition of Citaglobal Hospitality Sdn Bhd (CHSB) for a cash consideration of RM1.5 million.

Upon completion of the acquisition, which is expected within the next two months, CHSB will become a whollyowned subsidiary of WZ Satu.

CHSB has a moneylender’s license issued by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government Malaysia, valid until February 10, 2024. To date, the company has yet to commence its moneylending business, thereby eliminating any legacy issues upon acquisition by WZ Satu.

The acquisition of CHSB provides a more time-saving and cost-effective way to obtain the moneylending license, as compared to WZ Satu applying for a moneylending license on its own.

CHSB is the second asset to be acquired from TIZA Global, a private vehicle of WZ Satu’s Executive Chairman & President Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria.

Earlier in November 2021, WZ Satu proposed to acquire the entire stake in engineering consultancy services and construction-related services firm Citaglobal Engineering Services Sdn Bhd (CESSB) from TIZA Global for RM140 million. The acquisition of CESSB will be completed in the near-term.

With the moneylending business as a new income stream, WZ Satu is expected to further turbo-boost its profitability growth, moving forward. It is noteworthy that the Group made a turnaround in the financial year ended 31 December 2021, ahead of expectations.

In a statement, Mohamad Norza Zakaria said: “We plan to put the moneylending business on-stream as soon as the acquisition is completed. We see a huge growth opportunity for the Group in this segment, especially with the expected hike in the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) in the second half of 2022.

“The acquisition of CHSB would contribute positively to WZ Satu after considering the relatively longer processing periods and stricter lending requirements imposed by banks and licensed financial institutions.