PETALING Jaya (July 15): PitchIn, the licensed equity crowdfunding (ECF) and initial exchange offering (IEO) platform, listed its first pre-live IEO deal on its official website to gauge investors interest.

Bidnow Sdn Bhd (BidNow), a locally based auction platform established in 2019, intends to raise RM5 million to RM10 million from the public through the issuance of digital tokens.

According to PitchIn's official website, BidNow will be the first company to issue utility tokens on a regulated platform in Malaysia. Utility tokens are often described as “vouchers” that provide its holders with access to special benefits or promotions of a company.

A difference between utility tokens and coupons is that utility tokens could be listed on digital asset exchanges (DAX) and traded at market price.

The first digital token issuance in the country by a regulated platform, however, is done by Kapital DX (KLDX) three months ago in March without a fanfare.

According to its official website, the issuer of the fixed income digital token was Integra Healthcare Technology Sdn Bhd. The company was set up as an investment holding company to develop, own and manage specialist rehabilitation and healthcare centres.

KLDX's official website also shows that the issuer successfully raised funds through the issuance of three tranches (T1, T2 and T4) of digital tokens that offer investors with profit rates ranging from 7.8% to 10% per annum.

Fixed income digital token is categorised as a form of security token. It is a form of cryptocurrency that represents a fraction of real assets, such as equity, bond or real estate.

Much like utility tokens, security tokens can also be traded on the secondary market if they are listed on DAXs.

PitchIn official website mentions that BidNow is one of the leading auction platforms in Malaysia after it expanded its business with the launch of “JomBid” and “GroupBid” in April 2021, allowing users to auction and bid various products, including home appliances, gadgets, luxury watches, furniture and antiques.

It also writes that BidNow has more than 20,000 active users and over 8,000 real estate brokers signed up on its online platform.

“BidNow is integrating into the Web3 ecosystem and leveraging blockchain technology to enhance its services. By 4Q2022 (fourth quarter of 2022), they have signed MOU (memorandum of understanding) and MOA (memorandum of agreement) with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) for collaboration in cybersecurity, technology and data science.

“This partnership will facilitate a smooth transition into Web3 and explore advancements in AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality) technologies.”

BidNow previously raised RM4.98 million from 466 investors, including the Malaysia Co-Investment Fund (MyCIF), through ECF in 2021.

MyCIF is established by the Ministry of Finance under Budget 2019 to co-invest in micro, small and medium enterprises through ECF and peer-to-peer financing platforms.

According to its audited financial report dated Dec 31, 2023, BidNow's principal business activities are development and maintenance of bidding platforms to provide advertising, bidding service and information to investors.

The group generated a revenue of RM14.09 million in its financial year 2023 (FY2023), up 73.48% from the previous year. It was also sitting on a loss after tax of RM276,638, compared to loss after tax of RM675,214 a year ago.  

The company has total assets of RM6.83 million and total liabilities of RM1.32 million. It also has cash and cash equivalent of about RM1.4 million during the corresponding period.

Meanwhile, PitchIn also launched the country’s first secondary market for ECF on July 10. The platform is open for trading on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10am to 5pm.