Last month, there were 20 IPOs (initial public offerings) listed on the Main Board of the KLSE and the ACE markets. Among them, Technology, EMS (electronic manufacturing services) and semiconductor IPOs have done comparatively well.
Also, among these is Agmo Holdings Berhad (Agmo). Agmo was listed on the ACE Market on Aug 18, at which point Its shares were oversubscribed by 120 times when it was floated.
It was also reported that the company has eyes on expanding into Singapore within the first 18 months of its listing on the ACE market.
BusinessToday spoke to Agmo Holdings Berhad Founder and Chief Executive Officer Tan Aik Keong, on the company’s direction and value proposition.
BT: How would Agmo maintain its position as the blockchain pioneer in the Malaysian market?
Tan: Agmo Studio has been one of the Blockchain development pioneers in Malaysia since 2017. Ever since we began in 2012, we have developed over 100 mobile and web applications for many customers including public listed companies, large enterprises, GLCs, MNCs and SMEs in Malaysia. The customers under our portfolio are spread across various industries and sectors.
Our solutions and applications support the transformation from traditional methods of carrying out specific tasks or functions of businesses and companies such as sales and marketing, customer service, warehousing and human resources, enabling the digitalisation of such processes which improves the overall efficiency of business operations.
Our Group also incorporates emerging technologies such as blockchain and/or XR (extended reality) in the development of mobile and web applications when required. These emerging technologies will serve as additional features to enhance mobile and web applications. For example, in 2018, we developed the first blockchain-based Electronic Health Record app, namely DOC2US in Malaysia based on Hyperledger Fabric, which was used by more than 1,500 authorised partner pharmacy outlets, with more than 1 million e-prescriptions filled to-date.
In 2020, we also developed the first blockchain-based remote participation and voting platform, namely Vote2U that enables public listed companies in Malaysia to host virtual AGMs and EGMs.
The blockchain element ensures security and traceability of the voting records.
Therefore, I strongly believe blockchain technology will be a key part of Malaysia’s next digital frontier and Agmo will continue to build on the adoption of blockchain technology to further enhance these solutions.
BT: What is Agmo’s value proposition? What makes the company a leader and how does it differentiate what it offers from its competitors?
A: One of our competitive strengths is that we have an in-house proprietary development framework, namely Agmo Genesis which comprises readily-built components that can be used as a base in every application development project. This enables us to enhance the efficiency and speed of our project development lifecycle, hence we would be able to deliver more projects with better resource management.
We have developed a track record of more than 100 mobile and web applications serving public listed companies, large enterprises, GLCs, MNCs, and SMEs across various industries. We are equipped with technical expertise and knowledge of emerging technologies including blockchain and Extended Reality (XR).
BT: Moving forward, what is the direction of the company?
A: At the moment, we will be executing the future plans as set out in the prospectus. We have formed a dedicated R&D department recently to launch more products that are Web3 and Blockchain-based. For Web3 projects in particular, we were appointed as the Project Manager for Zetrix, the first supernode in Malaysia which will be fully compatible and interoperable to China’s national blockchain infrastructure.
Agmo is also the tech developer behind NFT Pangolin, a global marketplace for regional creators in Asia to issue and sell their unique digital assets to global collectors. We are always actively exploring new opportunities for growth and expanding our footprint in the market. With NFT Pangolin and Zetrix, the company is taking another step ahead in our plans towards an innovative and integrated future.
BT: How will the training and development academy benefit Agmo and eventually the mobile and web application development industry?
A: Agmo Academy will provide an avenue for us to groom and source for new industry talent, as well as to generate additional revenue for the company. We will also be monitoring the progress and development of students in terms of their technical skill sets which will help us narrow down the suitable pool of candidates to join the company.
Workshops and training for Information Technology (IT) professionals have been done regularly, and we have the expertise to design the industrial training modules for our students, such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, chatbot, mobile and web programming among others.
This is to equip young talent with the necessary skills and industry expertise, whereby these syllabuses currently have commercial and practical relevance in the digital solutions industry.
Tech space is very competitive today. In the early 2010’s there were mobile apps, followed by blockchain in 2015 and now it is Meta. We aim to make the talent pool a sustainable one.
