This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on March 17, 2025 - March 23, 2025

HUMAN capital services company Ramssol Group Bhd (KL:RAMSSOL) is not widely known in the investment community but that may change as it reaps the benefits of strategic investments and product diversification following its listing on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia in 2021.

Once focused solely on human capital management (HCM) and human resources (HR) consultancy, the company has transformed into a multifaceted technology provider through its acquisition of a 51% stake in Bangkok-based Geekstart Co Ltd for its artificial intelligence (AI) tech (AITech) business, complementing its existing revenue drivers or what it calls PeopleTech, MarTech, AutoTech and EduTech.

“In 2025, AITech and PeopleTech will be our two core pillars, driving our order book and revenue growth. The outlook for both divisions is highly promising, and I am confident in their continued expansion,” says managing director and CEO Datuk Seri Cllement Tan Chee Seng in an interview with The Edge.

“We are at an exciting inflection point,” he adds. “The investments we made post-IPO (initial public offering) are now paying off, and with a robust pipeline of contracts, we are confident of sustaining our growth trajectory.”

The acquisition of Geekstart, a company specialising in AI-driven digital solutions, cost Ramssol RM6.9 million and was satisfied via the issuance of 13 million new shares, giving the vendors a 4.1% stake in the company. The deal was completed last September.

This acquisition enables Ramssol to capture AI-driven projects and offer in-house consultancy and system design services.

“Previously, I was outsourcing AI projects to Geekstart without receiving any commissions. Acquiring the company made financial sense, allowing us to capture 100% of revenue from consultancy services,” Tan explains.

AITech is also set to benefit from an upcoming joint venture (JV) with Thailand’s King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, structured as an 80:20 partnership, with Ramssol holding the majority stake. The JV will leverage the institute’s research and government connections to commercialise AI solutions, with a pipeline of RM25 million in contracts already lined up.

Under its PeopleTech division, which focuses on human resources-related services, a notable shift made by the company was its expansion into software licensing through the adoption of Darwinbox, a Microsoft-owned product, in late 2023. Previously, the company only offered implementation services for Oracle solutions. Now, as a Darwinbox licence distributor, Ramssol earns a 15% margin per transaction, giving a boost to its revenue.

“Oracle and Darwinbox cater to different market segments. Oracle is a premium full-suite enterprise solution, best suited for large companies with over 20,000 employees. Darwinbox, on the other hand, is a dedicated HR platform ideal for companies with 5,000 to 15,000 employees,” Tan explains.

Given the long sales cycles and high costs associated with Oracle, Ramssol needed to diversify its portfolio by offering Tier-2 and 3 solutions, which led the group to a product like Darwinbox. Besides that, it also offers AI-powered solutions such as Hono AI, ZingHR, Disprz and Laiye.

Ramssol’s clients include players in the banking and construction sectors.

Since diversifying into new platforms, the company’s revenue of RM61.65 million for its financial year ended Dec 31, 2024 (FY2024) was more than double FY2023’s RM30.55 million. This marks a departure from the stagnation in FY2022 and FY2023; revenue for FY2022 was RM27.83 million. 

“Our revenue model has evolved beyond project-based consulting to include recurring earnings from software licensing and AI-driven solutions. This shift allows us to scale our business more sustainably,” Tan explains.

He adds that Ramssol is still actively seeking acquisition opportunities, particularly for staffing and recruitment firms to complete its HR ecosystem, as well as fintech ventures to support the launch of its upcoming PaydayNow platform in collaboration with AmBank Group.

Ramssol is no stranger in the staffing and recruitment segment as before the Covid-19 pandemic, it had managed to source over 60,000 employees for clients, generating a steady profit margin of 20%. However, when the pandemic hit, the company had to scale back.

With the business environment now improving, Tan says Ramssol is eyeing a return to this segment; as it has received large staffing enquiries from major Malaysian corporations.

“For our upcoming acquisitions, we will not be issuing shares or conducting a private placement. Instead, we will manage them (source for funding) internally. Given our healthy gearing ratio of 0.26 times, we can handle an acquisition worth RM10 million,” he adds.

A graduate in IT from Australia, Tan founded Ramssol in 2010 and expanded to Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam. In addition to PeopleTech and AITech, Ramssol’s MarTech, AutoTech and EduTech divisions offer tech or digital solutions in the marketing, auto and educational sectors respectively.

“What we do is actually quite simple — we are consultants. Specifically, I am a business process consultant, or what you might call a solutionist,” says Tan. “Our core services include HR system implementation and consultancy. This involves adapting to changes in government regulations and employment laws, providing consultancy and training clients on system updates, as all processes are formula-driven.”

Ramssol is also making inroads into fintech with the upcoming launch of PaydayNow, an earned wage access platform developed with AmBank. The platform allows employees to withdraw up to 25% of their earned wages per week before their regular payday via a mobile app, subject to a flat transaction fee — similar to ATM withdrawal charges.

“This model has already proven successful in the US and China, where companies operating it have become billion-dollar enterprises,” Tan says. “With over 500,000 employees in our ecosystem and AmBank’s 7,500 corporate clients, the market potential for PaydayNow is substantial.”

He estimates that if just 20% of eligible employees use the service, the platform could generate over RM1.2 million in monthly transaction fees.

“Although PaydayNow is fully developed and tested, integration with AmBank’s banking system is ongoing. Compliance and security requirements take time, but we have already conducted pilot tests with Ramssol employees and other listed companies,” he adds.

When the company went public in 2021, Ramssol raised RM25.1 million from the IPO, which were allocated to support its expansion strategies. 

Of this, RM2.5 million was set aside for business expansion into the Philippines, while RM6.3 million was allocated for expanding the subscriber bases of its employee engagement tool Feet’s and collaboration platform Lark in Southeast Asia.

Additionally, RM4.1 million was designated for research and development (R&D) expenditure to enhance its HCM solutions, RM7.6 million for working capital and the remaining RM4.6 million for listing expenses.

For FY2024, Ramssol reported a net profit of RM13.51 million, more than double the previous year’s RM6.26 million. The company’s market capitalisation currently stands at RM291.2 million, but Tan has set an ambitious goal of reaching RM1 billion by 2026.

“To achieve a RM1 billion market cap, we need to reach RM50 million to RM60 million in profit at a sustainable 18 times price-earnings ratio (PER). Unlike some companies trading at 40 times or 50 times PER, we aim for a more stable valuation,” he says.

Currently, 70% of Ramssol’s revenue comes from one-time services, while only 30% is recurring. Tan aims to flip this ratio to 70%-80% recurring revenue to ensure long-term stability.

“To boost recurring income, we are developing new products and strategic partnerships, including launching a GPU-as-a-Service subscription model with a Chinese partner. This will create steady revenue streams,” he says.

“AITech and PeopleTech will be our biggest growth engines and, by 2026, I believe our numbers will surpass expectations. If all goes well, we are also considering listing AITech, with Nasdaq and Bursa Malaysia as potential options,” he shares, adding that while its PeopleTech business remains strong, AITech is the most exciting area for Ramssol.

Those who see potential in Ramssol include Top Glove Corp Bhd’s (KL:TOPGLOV) co-founder and chairman Tan Sri Lim Wee Chai who was an early investor and now has a 5.35% stake.

Tan is the largest shareholder with 22.83%.

Ramssol is also seeing interest from institutional investors, with Areca Capital holding a 1.91% stake in the group.

Year to date, Ramssol’s share price has risen 11.72% to 81 sen as at last Wednesday, valuing the group at RM291.2 million. 

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