KUALA LUMPUR: Merchantrade Asia Sdn Bhd is acquiring an additional stake in Singapore's Kliq Pte Ltd (Kliq), raising its stake from 49 per cent to 70 per cent in an effort to strengthen its presence in the island nation's digital remittance market as well as the burgeoning Asia Pacific money transfer market.
The acquisition exercise is expected to be completed in August 2020.
Merchantrade Asia is a money transfer service provider, e-money issuer, wholesale currency service and money exchange service with 84 retail branches at major and high-end shopping malls nationwide.
Managing director Ramasamy K Veeran said over the years, Merchantrade has successfully built its name into a trusted brand domestically and internationally, investing in a remittance platform which is connected globally with 65 partners, of which 40 are banks and 25 are non-banks.
"The trust built over the years has made it easier for Merchantrade to continue its expansion in both the international and domestic markets," he said.
The Kliq acquisition exercise underscores Merchantrade's business direction and will beef up the firm's footprint outside of Malaysia, he told Bernama.
"I am confident of growing the Merchantrade brand outside of Malaysia and looking into expanding our other digital services such as Merchantrade ewallet, eBiz for the business-to-business (B2B) market and emulating our other business models in the Lion City.
"Singapore has a similar geographical and cultural background as Malaysia and the expansion into Singapore is the first stepping stone for Merchantrade to tap into the Asia Pacific market.
"The remittance market demands the consolidation of the money services business in line with market trends that are moving fast towards digital platforms as well as efficient delivery of cross-border remittances," he said.
With the increased stake in Kliq, Merchantrade will bring the award-winning eRemit brand into Singapore, he said, adding that this is timely as many Malaysians are working in Singapore in all sectors.
"They include those who are commuting on a daily basis between Johor Bahru and Singapore, or have a permanent resident status in Singapore," he said.
He said besides Malaysia, Singapore is among the top three largest outbound markets in South East Asia for the group.
Currently the digital remittance service is already available in the city-state as Kliq operates under the M1 remit brand name, he noted.
"However, we strongly believe that the success of eRemit, which is already popular among expatriates in Malaysia, will be repeated in Singapore.
"We will formulate the very same strategy we adopted in Malaysia in Singapore as well. Customers in Singapore can now enjoy a great experience similar to that in Malaysia starting in mid-August," he said.
Besides Singapore, Merchantrade is also open to more local and international acquisitions that are in line with the company's current aspiration to become a regional player, he added. – BERNAMA