The Malaysian Reserve: AppAsia Aims to be Apps PowerHouse
AppAsia Bhd, formerly Extol MSC Bhd, is looking at potential acquisitions of app developers both regionally and globally, following the setup of its app developer talent training facility.
Although the acquisition plans are not immediate, executive director Toh Hong Chye said the company will continue to search and identify app developer firms that have growth potential in the app market.
But for now AppAsia will focus on up-scaling its current facilities to create new apps and tap the growing demand for innovative apps in domestic, regional and global smartphone and tablet user.
“We have already setup our app training centre to train new and experienced app developers to create innovative apps like chat app Whatsapp created by US-based WhatsApp Inc, global positioning apps like Google’s Waze and MyTeksi, Malaysia’s popular taxi-booking app,” he told The Malaysian Reserve recently.
He said AppAsia strategy to evolving into a leading mobile apps powerhouse and talent incubator for Southeast Asia.
AppAsia embarked on a right issue exercise in the fourth quarter last year, offering 138.96 million new shares of 10 sen each together with an equal number of free detachable warrants for every one existing AppAsia share held.
The exercise was well received with an over-subscription rate of 38.81%.
“The over-subscription of our shares clearly show the confidence of our shareholders who are positive in the app market worldwide,” executive director Calvert Wong Ngai Peow said.
According to AppAsia’s prospectus, the company aims to raise some RM13.90 million from the right issue exercise, of which, RM3.88 million will be used for research and development of new products, RM1.15 million for the purchase of production and operations equipment, RM8.35 million for working capital and RM510,000 for expenses on its corporate exercises.
Calvert said the app market in the next two to three year will pick up momentum following the demand for innovative apps that help consumers in their daily needs, such as access to public transportation, banks and automated teller machines, restaurants and eateries as well as productivity apps.
Moving forward, Calvert said AppAsia, for this year, will be aggressively expand regionally in the app market space by talking to various stakeholders within the industry and at the same time identify potential developers for acquisition opportunities.
(Source: The Malaysian Reserve, 29 January 2015 (Thursday), by John Gilbert. Also available: http://themalaysianreserve.com/new/story/appasia-aims-be-apps-powerhouse)
