Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad, the Malaysian financial services company, is moving into the cryptocurrency industry with a new investment.
It has been reported that Kenanga has entered into a conditional agreement to acquire a 19% equity stake in a licensed crypto exchange. The investment was facilitated through Kenanga’s fully-owned private equity arm Kenanga Private Equity.
However, according to the agreement, Kenanga will invest in Tokenize Technology, the operator of the local crypto exchange Tokenize Xchange. Offering trading services for major cryptos like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), the platform is one of the three licensed digital asset exchanges regulated by the Securities Commission Malaysia.
According to Kenanga, Tokenize Xchange is the second-largest digital asset exchange in terms of market share in Malaysia.
Malaysian Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad to acquire a 19% equity stake in #crypto trading platform @TokenizeXchange https://t.co/LiRR9JdtPa — Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) February 8, 2021
Datuk Chay Wai Leong, the Group Managing Director of Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad, said:
“We have been building a digital ecosystem to offer our customers a wide spectrum of financial products and services, including digital assets.”
He added:
“Our interest in digital assets goes beyond Bitcoin and other commonly traded cryptocurrencies. We believe that the technology behind digital assets is very powerful and the emergence of digital assets in the future is inevitable.”
The report said that a spokesperson for Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad declined to provide further details regarding the investment. Kenanga is one of the largest financial services companies in Malaysia, reportedly owning Malaysia’s largest independent investment bank by equity trading and volume.
Thus, the company is a known partner of Japanese crypto-friendly retail giant Rakuten, providing a joint online stock trading platform, Rakuten Trade, in Malaysia.
Source: Cointelegraph | Image: The Edge Markets