KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 19): A sukuk programme of Zetrix AI Bhd (KL:ZETRIX) has been placed under a rating agency’s watchlist after the forced selling of its founder’s shares and as borrowings ballooned.
The sharp reduction in Wong Thean Soon’s shareholdings shrank the buffer needed to actively comply with a term that requires him to remain as the digital services firm’s single largest shareholder, MARC Ratings said in a statement. The RM2 billion Islamic medium-term notes programme carries an AA rating.
“MARC Ratings will reassess and take appropriate rating action as necessary when the selldown situation stabilises, given that further reduction in the founder’s shareholding could lead to a covenant breach,” the agency said.
A margin call on Wong, who is also Zetrix AI’s managing director, triggered an avalanche of selling that began near the end of August and cut his shareholding in Zetrix AI to just 12% from 30%.
The stock has continued to decline, wiping out more than 75% of its market capitalisation to just RM1.6 billion on Friday.
MARC Ratings said it is also looking into Zetrix AI’s borrowings that rose to RM2.2 billion as at end-June 2026 from RM160.5 million in 2021 and were channelled towards development spending on services related to artificial intelligence and blockchain platform.
While Zetrix AI continues to generate “healthy” operating cash flows, the proportion of its debt has expanded fourfold to 0.5 times of equity though the impact on leverage has been partially blunted by private placement exercises and growth in retained earnings, the agency noted.
Since the blockchain development began in August 2021, the company has racked up development expenditure totalling RM3.7 billion at the end of June, now representing more than half of its total assets.
MARC Ratings added that it is assessing the impact of a further significant increase in borrowings to fund continued development expenditure on the group’s balance sheet and earnings leverage over the near to medium term.