KENANGA ANNUAL REPORT 2020

14 2 1 3 4 5 6 7 OUR PERFORMANCE with CapBay’s recognised experience in the private sector, provides the ideal basis for the introduction of Malaysia’s first solution to unify both private and public sector receivables under a single fully digital end-to-end online platform. Besides providing access to an underserved market, this partnership will enhance KCI’s position in the factoring market, expand its range of offerings while also improving operational efficiencies. Short-term financing solutions such as this, has become instrumental to many entrepreneurs, at a time where many businesses continue to grapple with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. In October 2020, the Group acquired a 4.99% equity stake in Merchantrade Asia Sdn Bhd ( “Merchantrade” ), one of the fastest-growing digital payments and money services players in the region. This investment follows our development of Malaysia’s first stockbroker e-wallet, Kenanga Money, in partnership with Merchantrade. Kenanga Money will enable our customers to transfer funds from their stock trading accounts to a multi-currency e-wallet and prepaid card for retail payments, remittance and withdrawals on a worldwide basis. With a shared vision and ambition to reshape the financial space through technology, we look forward to developing greater synergies with Merchantrade in the coming year and the creation of game-changing products and solutions for our customers. In the same vein, 2021 had kicked off with the acquisition of i-VCAP Management Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of ValueCAP Sdn Bhd, that is engaged primarily in the provision of Islamic Exchange Traded Fund ( “ETF” ). This move via our Investment and Wealth Management arm, Kenanga Investors Berhad ( “KIB” ), follows a year after KIB’s maiden foray into the ETF arena with OneETF by Kenanga, Malaysia’s first KLCI-linked leverage and inverse ETFs. This acquisition will augment KIB’s position as a leading ETF issuer as it will broaden its geographical reach, product suite and investment expertise, enabling it to provide more solutions to help clients achieve their investment objectives. With digital continuing to be at the centre of our enterprise growth strategy, reinforced by the ambition to create a robust and extensive ecosystem for our customers, the Group took its first step into the digital assets space in February 2021, via GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR’ S MANAGEMENT DI SCUSS ION & ANALYS I S Overall, the events that unfolded in 2020 served as a validation of the Group’s persistent focus on digital, as we witnessed the readiness and activation of our business processes and digital infrastructure in responding to the sudden shift in customer behaviours and online interactions that were sparked by the pandemic. It is apparent these changes are here for the long haul and we are committed to ensuring the Group continues to prioritise digital-led growth and transformation as part of our enterprise strategy to be future-ready. I take this opportunity to commend the Group Business Continuity Management Committee which adopted an all hands-on deck approach, in responding to the threats and uncertainties from the pandemic. A spectrum of initiatives was rapidly rolled out to keep employees and stakeholders informed, engaged and assured – from daily updates, on-site testing of employees and rigorous sanitising of our offices, to developing and enforcing quarantine policies, distribution of masks and sanitisers, contact tracing and all other standard operating procedures set out by the Ministry of Health. In addition to that, the Group also disbursed financial aid to certain employee segments to tide them over this difficult period. Beyond the importance of process and system efficiencies, the pandemic also showed us the value of collaboration, adaptability, flexibility and speed – all of which will continue to be vital in contributing to the Group’s resilience and success in the coming years. Strategic Partnerships Kenanga Group via its subsidiaries entered into strategic partnerships with several notable digital players during the year, in a bid to fuel growth, fortify our fundamental business model and expand our current offerings. In August 2020, the Group’s subsidiary that offers Islamic Structured Lending & Trade Financing solutions, Kenanga Capital Islamic Sdn Bhd ( “KCI” ) entered into a partnership with the award-winning digital supply chain financing company, Bay Group Holdings Sdn Bhd ( “CapBay” ). KCI’s established track record in supply-chain financing to small and medium enterprises ( “SMEs” ) supporting the public sector, coupled CORPORATE HIGHLIGHTS