This article first appeared in Wealth, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on June 22, 2026 - June 28, 2026

Kunkwan Capital Sdn Bhd, the holding company of adult Mandarin education provider Kunkwan International Mandarin Training Centre, aims to raise between RM1.6 million and RM2 million through an equity crowdfunding campaign on pitchIN to fund its expansion into Indonesia and the development of a mobile learning application.

The campaign, which runs from May 18 to June 30, valued the company at RM14.4 million before the fundraising. New ordinary shares are priced at RM16.53 apiece, with a minimum investment of RM4,992.06 for a block of 302 shares.

As at June 15, the campaign had drawn about RM1.47 million from 69 investors, or 92% of its minimum target.

Based on the term sheet dated March 6, 40% of the proceeds will fund the establishment of two strategic business units in Indonesia, covering the recruitment of local marketing personnel, promotional campaigns and brand-building collaborations.

Another 40% is earmarked for the development of the Kunkwan mobile application, including translation, payment gateway integration and artificial intelligence-based learning features, while the remaining 20% will go towards working capital.

Founder and group CEO Ng Kun Kwan says Indonesia is naturally its expansion market on scale alone. “Indonesia’s population is much bigger than Malaysia’s. It’s like eight times Malaysia’s,” he says, adding that the company entered the market early last year and began recording revenue there in September.

Chief capital officer Jay Hoi says Kunkwan reaches students through an agent-driven marketing model rather than a conventional sales force, a structure the company is now replicating in Indonesia. “We are doing the method that works something like agent insurance. We have more than 300 agents, about 220 of whom are in Indonesia.”

Hoi says Indonesian monthly revenue has grown from about IDR43 million (RM98,373) in its first month to roughly IDR600 million, though these figures are management estimates and have not been audited.

The company’s longer-term aim is to convert one-off course fees into recurring revenue through the app.

Ng says while Malaysians currently pay about RM4,000 upfront for the 19-month programme, the company wants to move to a monthly subscription model akin to Netflix, drawing on language-learning app Duolingo and a model of daily “micro learning”.

Kunkwan runs Mandarin courses aimed at adult non-native speakers, delivered through physical centres and, increasingly, online. The company positions itself at the premium end of the market, with its 19-month programme taking learners through to the third level of the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK) Chinese proficiency test.

“We’re selling one of the most premium Mandarin courses in Malaysia,” Hoi says, adding that competitors charge a few hundred ringgit.

Ng adds that the premium pricing reflects the company’s tested syllabus and training, and is intended to ensure learners value the lessons rather than competing on price with other language centres.

The company says its platform has served more than 470,000 learners across the region, though Hoi notes that figure spans paid, one-day-course and corporate social responsibility participants, with roughly 50,000 having paid for a full programme.

Kunkwan Capital, wholly controlled by its sole director Ng, oversees two subsidiaries — Kunkwan Holding Sdn Bhd and Kunkwan Sdn Bhd, the latter of which operates its training and language centres.

Perak-born Ng, who is a certified HSK examiner and has worked as an educator for about 15 years, founded Kunkwan in 2013. He was named one of 10 global honorees in the cross-cultural achievement category at the Junior Chamber International’s Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World awards in 2025.

According to its audited financial statements, the group posted a revenue of RM6.84 million for the financial year ended Jan 31, 2025 (FY2025), up 24% from RM5.5 million a year earlier, with all revenue derived from tuition services. It returned to the black with a net profit of RM128,865 against a net loss of RM327,920 in FY2024.

The FY2025 bottom line, however, was lifted by a one-off gain of RM186,333 from the disposal of a motor vehicle, booked within other operating income of RM220,819.

Stripping out that gain would leave the group with an adjusted loss of about RM57,468, according to Tradeview Research analyst Tan Jia Hui, who attributes the shortfall to continued spending on team expansion, branding, marketing and system development that was fully expensed in the year, while the corresponding revenue is expected to come through later.

Employee costs of RM4.26 million made up the bulk of operating expenses.

Management does not dispute the characterisation. Ng and Hoi describe FY2025 as a transitional year and say the group is now restructuring to lift margins, targeting a net profit margin of about 25% from roughly 6%.

The plan includes right-sizing the workforce, closing one of two centres in Johor Bahru to save about RM240,000 a year in rental, and tightening the agent commission structure so that higher payouts require higher sales.

The group’s shareholders’ equity stood at RM437,343 as at end-January 2025, with total borrowings rising to RM1.47 million from RM763,000 a year earlier, comprising term loans bearing interest of between 8.7% and 9.7% per annum, guaranteed by Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia Bhd and the director, as well as finance lease liabilities.

The higher borrowings lifted the group’s gearing and pushed finance costs up to RM56,032 from RM17,372.

The RM14.4 million pre-money valuation works out to about 2.1 times FY2025 revenue and, on the reported profit, more than 100 times earnings. Under the Securities Commission Malaysia’s Equity Crowdfunding framework, valuations are set by the issuer.

Shares subscribed under the campaign will be held through Pitch Nominees Sdn Bhd, with investors retaining beneficial ownership.

The ordinary shares carry no liquidation preference and rank equally with existing shares on dividends, which are discretionary and capped at 30% of available profits under the company’s constitution. The shares may be traded on pitchIN’s secondary market and more information can be found on the platform’s website.

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