PETALING JAYA: Paramount Corp Bhd has invested RM10 million in Commerce DotAsia Ventures Sdn Bhd (Commerce.Asia), an all- in one e-commerce ecosystem that provides one stop, end-to-end e-commerce solutions for brands, businesses, and small and medium enterprises (SME) in Southeast Asia.
The investment was made through its wholly owned investment vehicle Magna Intelligent Sdn Bhd and Magna’s 30%-owned associated company Omegaxis Sdn Bhd, which owns Fundaztic.
This is in line with Paramount’s five-year (2020-2024) plan to identify new sources of earnings, particularly in the digital space. Paramount is also the lead applicant of a consortium applying to Bank Negara Malaysia for a digital banking licence.
Paramount corporate strategy and investment head Tracy Gan (pix) said the pandemic had shifted consumer behaviour and accelerated e-commerce adoption worldwide over the past two years.
“Our investment in Commerce.Asia is timely given its end-to-end ecosystem, track record, and business model which has almost doubled in revenue since 2020 and turned profitable in 2021,” she said in a statement.
The investment was made through its wholly owned investment vehicle Magna Intelligent Sdn Bhd and Magna’s 30%-owned associated company Omegaxis Sdn Bhd, which owns Fundaztic.
This is in line with Paramount’s five-year (2020-2024) plan to identify new sources of earnings, particularly in the digital space. Paramount is also the lead applicant of a consortium applying to Bank Negara Malaysia for a digital banking licence.
Paramount corporate strategy and investment head Tracy Gan (pix) said the pandemic had shifted consumer behaviour and accelerated e-commerce adoption worldwide over the past two years.
“Our investment in Commerce.Asia is timely given its end-to-end ecosystem, track record, and business model which has almost doubled in revenue since 2020 and turned profitable in 2021,” she said in a statement.
Commerce.Asia manages all aspects of customers’ online businesses, from developing their online stores to managing product
sales across multiple e- marketplaces, including warehousing, payment, delivery, marketing, and order management. The company
currently has over 92,000 active sellers that use its various platforms with a group gross merchandise volume of RM6.7 billion last year.
Gan said the investment in Commerce.Asia creates strong business synergies between Paramount and Commerce.Asia and new revenue streams for both groups.
“The convergence of two fast-emerging trends – fintech and e-commerce – serves as the platform for Fundaztic to provide financing to Commerce.Asia’s network of merchants utilising advanced data analytics and insights,” she said, adding that it also deepens and broadens the merchant ecosystem available to the Paramount group.
Gan said the investment in Commerce.Asia creates strong business synergies between Paramount and Commerce.Asia and new revenue streams for both groups.
“The convergence of two fast-emerging trends – fintech and e-commerce – serves as the platform for Fundaztic to provide financing to Commerce.Asia’s network of merchants utilising advanced data analytics and insights,” she said, adding that it also deepens and broadens the merchant ecosystem available to the Paramount group.
Fundaztic is one of the first peer-to-peer financing platforms in Malaysia licensed by the Securities Commission Malaysia. It has disbursed close to RM150 million, supporting more than 2,350 micro to small and medium enterprises, since 2017. “Moving forward, Paramount aims to further increase our footprint in the digital space and will continue to be on the lookout for opportunities to grow this segment, especially those that create synergy with our existing investments or businesses,” she said. Paramount’s core business is in property development while its coworking division offers a network of collaborative ecosystems uniquely designed for entrepreneurs, freelancers, startups, and corporates.
As published: The Sun
As published: The Sun
