KUALA LUMPUR (July 15): BR Capital, a peer-to-peer (P2P) debt fundraising platform which operates under a joint-venture (JV) entity of Bursa Malaysia Bhd (KL:BURSA) and RAM Holdings Bhd, has listed two pre-live deals on its online platform.

The two debt issuers are PEPS-JV (Melaka) Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of automotive parts manufacturer EP Manufacturing Bhd (KL:EPMB) and City Coin Technology Bhd, a core unit of integrated operator of self-service laundry outlet City Coin Holdings Sdn Bhd.

While both deals are not open for investing yet, some details are provided. For the Project Everest — Tranches 1 under PEPS-JV, the aim is to raise RM10 million, with an indicative profit rate of 7% per annum, according to the preliminary investment note fact sheet dated June 21.

The issuance, which is an Islamic investment note, has a tenure of three years, and pays out interest semi-annually. It is also rated R3, indicating that it has an “adequate safety for payment of financial obligations”.

The RAM Ratings report on Project Everest provides a further explanation on its rating scale used for the credit evaluation of investment notes on the BR Capital platform. The scale ranges from R1 to R9, with R1 being the highest rating and R9 the lowest.

The Project Everest fact sheet also points out that the funds are being raised to part finance the capital expenditure for the construction and/or development of Phase 1 (estimated capital expenditure of RM30 million) of the issuer’s full-scale RM100 million completely knocked down manufacturing and vehicle assembly facility in Melaka.

It is also for the general working capital requirement in relation to the assembly contracts between the issuer with Great Wall Motors Sales Malaysia Sdn Bhd and BAIC International Development Co Ltd.

Great Wall Motor Company Ltd (GWM) is a Chinese privately owned automobile manufacturer, while BAIC International is part of Beijing Automotive Group Co Ltd, a Fortune Global 500 company and one of China’s largest carmakers.

According to news reports in January, EPMB announced that PEPS-JV had been appointed as the contract vehicle assembler for the Malaysian unit of GWM, making it a key player in the assembly and production of selected GWM models in Malaysia for the next eight years.

Meanwhile, the Project Coin — Tranche 1 under City Coin Technology aims to raise RM5 million, with an indicative profit rate of 7.25% to 7.65% per annum, according to the preliminary investment note fact sheet dated June 18.

The issuance, which is also an Islamic investment note, comes with a tenure of two years, and pays out interest semi-annually. It is also rated R4 by RAM Ratings, indicating that it has adequate safety for payment of financial obligations.

According to the fact sheet, the funds are to be used by the issuer for working capital, which includes, among others, payment of professional fees, operating and administrative expenses, payment of staff costs, payment of store rental/leases, and other related expenditures.

It is also for capital expenditure, including renovation cost of new outlets, purchase of outlet equipment, and purchase of laundry equipment.

Project Everest comes with a corporate guarantee from EPMB, while Project Coin comes with personal and corporate guarantees. However, the issuance and maturity dates of the two projects are yet to be determined. More details could be found on BR Capital’s official website.

According to the website, the platform charges investors with a platform management fee of 0.3%, RM1 in withdrawal processing fees (per withdrawal), and miscellaneous charges.

The website also allows investors to register their interest for both projects in "lot amounts", of which one lot is priced at RM100.

Based on news reports, BR Capital is a 51:49 joint venture between Bursa and RAM Holdings. The debt fundraising platform aims to assist listed and unlisted companies, including small- and mid-sized firms in their debt fundraising activities.

The platform facilitates companies with fundraising needs of at least RM5 million and a minimum tenure of one year, and to raise such funds via the issuance of credit-rated investment notes.