Defying odds, this could summarise on company’s registering unseen level of revenue in a year that feels like a Hollywood Armageddon movie. The pandemic has swept all conventions out of the door and sees nations taking unprecedented steps to kick-start lagging economy, in Malaysia we had the largest budget in history being approves by parliament and also the biggest Covid-19 stimulus package in the region. These massive liquidity is witnessing organisations involved in marketing financial products receive large swathe of funds for investment purposes.
Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad is among them, the company just announced its third quarter financial results raking in profit before tax of RM63.3 million, a seven-fold hike from the same period last year. This it reported is the highest in over 10 years.
In statement issued to the press, the investment bank claimed to be largely driven by its increased brokerage fees, higher net interest income, trading and investment income, as well as, management fee income. It also recorded a share of profits from its joint venture company, Rakuten Trade.
With retail investors flocking to the markets, the surge in income is reflected its quarter with net income at RM289.5 million, a startking increase from the corresponding period of RM110.5 million. Net income for the nine-month ended 30 September 2020, stood at RM577 million, an increase of 72% from the same period last year.
“This year has been an extraordinary year for the equity markets globally, boosted by heightened retail participation. Kenanga Group’s strong foothold in the retail segment, augmented by digital transformation that we kick-started a few years ago, put us in a pole position this year to capitalise on sudden customer shift to online broking and the surge in trading volumes. Despite the intense competitive landscape, we continue to grow market share and aim to sustain this traction through new digital products and innovative solutions that are in the pipeline,” commented Datuk Chay Wai Leong, Group Managing Director, Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad.
“On many levels, this year has validated the importance of being in the forefront of technology. We are on track with our digitisation blueprint and will continue to build a robust ecosystem for our customers, accelerate growth, reinforce resilience, and safeguard the interests of our stakeholders. It has been a strong year for us and we are well-positioned to move into the new year on a positive note,” said Datuk Chay Wai Leong, Group Managing Director, Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad.
Kenanga is definitely benefitting from its digital strategy, since partnering in offering online trading with Rakuten Trade it has just recently acquired a 4.99% equity interest in Merchantrade Asia an e-money player and formed partnership with digital supply chain financing company, Bay Group Holdings, in a bid to transform the traditional factoring market in Malaysia. Additionally, the Group is expected to roll-out a robo-advisory platform by Q1 2021.
