Event

MBAN ups awareness through Futurising Asean Angels Summit 2015.

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Malaysian Business Angels Network (MBAN) president Dr V. Sivapalan says the angel scene is buzzing at the moment.— Digital News Asia picKUALA LUMPUR, Nov 11 — As South-East Asian countries build out their startup ecosystems, many are looking at funding, beyond venture capitalism and government aid, by creating a pool of angel investors.

These are almost always initially led by high net worth individuals (HNWIs) with disposable income. Startups are a perfect match for such individuals.

But with the concept of angel investing still new to the region, even in Singapore which has the most advanced startup ecosystem in South-East Asia, it is still too early to gauge efforts to build this leg.

For instance, Malaysia has been trying to build its pool of angel investors since 2013, and even has what some claim to be the most generous angel tax incentives in the world.

But has this been enough in a country where aspiring startups must compete with a formidable and well entrenched competitor for the chequebook of these HNWIs, the property market?

Playing the lead role in convincing HNWIs that betting on startups can offer them more rewarding returns than the predictability of property investing is the Malaysian Business Angels Network (MBAN).

MBAN is the official trade association and governing body for angel investors and angel clubs in Malaysia. Its vision is to become the official voice of the Malaysian angel investor community, as well as a platform for engagement and knowledge-sharing for domestic and international angel investors.

In line with its ambitions, it is organising the two-day MBAN Summit 2015: Futurising Asean Angels, in Kuala Lumpur from Nov 19-20.

Digital News Asia (DNA) spoke to MBAN president Dr V. Sivapalan to find out how the angel investment scene is progressing — or not — in Malaysia.

DNA: What does MBAN hope to achieve through this conference?

Sivapalan: We have three objectives:

Awareness: To create greater awareness about angel investing among the public in general, and among prospective investors in particular. As angel investing is still a nascent industry, we need to do more to create awareness and to let the public know that there is an alternative investing class known as angel investing. We also plan to promote the Angel Tax Incentive as we believe this will spur more investments in startups.

Education and deal flow: Secondly, we will be providing more angel education programmes from 2016 onwards to educate angels on how to invest, how to evaluate deals, the mechanisms of doing deals, and the potential to make money from angel investments. We will start this by introducing our first programme at the summit, as part of our partnership with London Business Angels under the banner of the Angels In The City programme. We will also have pitching sessions to provide curated deal flows for our angels.

Cross-border collaboration: At the summit, we will also have angels from six South-East Asian nations (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) as well as Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand and the United Kingdom present, and we will use this as an opportunity to create potential collaboration between the angel groups in these nations and Malaysia. As more cross-border deals are beginning to happen, and as angels are starting to invest across borders. a collaboration between the angel networks in Asean will benefit the entire ecosystem in the region, and Malaysia as the chair of Asean, wants to play a role in creating these possible collaborations.

DNA: How would you have rated the angel scene in Malaysia in January? How about now?

Sivapalan: I think we have made significant progress in the angel scene in the last 10 months. In January, we had only about 30 or so accredited angels registered with MBAN for the Angel Tax Incentive.

Today we have exceeded 100 angels and the number is growing all the time. I think we will meet our target of getting 120 angels registered by the end of the year.

This shows that our awareness programmes are working and more HNWIs are considering doing deals as angel investors.

We have also instituted monthly pitching sessions for angels from June this year and over the last five months, about 25 companies have pitched their ideas to angels. We see a lot of interest … and we know there are many discussions going on at the moment between angels and entrepreneurs.

The angel scene is buzzing at the moment.

DNA: What has been the trigger for the current buzz?

Sivapalan: The initial trigger was the tax incentive, but I think as more angels started looking at the curated deal flows that we provide, there was a realisation that there are actually many good deals and companies to invest in, in Malaysia.

Before this, angels may have been interested but they did not know how to source deals and how to invest. Since we curate deal flows, we ensure there is some quality in the deals, and this has made the angels aware of good deals.

There is also increasing syndicated deal-making happening – that is, angels are getting together to collectively invest in deals, and as this reduces the risk and introduces more expertise and experience to deal-making, angels are more confident to do deals. We are seeing more angel clubs being formed for this purpose.

Finally, the success of companies like MyTeksi/ GrabTaxi has also shown that Malaysia can indeed produce good companies with good investment potential. [GrabTaxi is the Malaysian-founded, and now Singapore-headquartered, taxi-hailing startup.]

DNA: Is your biggest hurdle in promoting angel investing still that more money can be made from investing in property?

Sivapalan: We know that investing in property will always be there for HNWIs, but increasingly, we are seeing that there is interest in investing in entrepreneurial ventures as well. The returns from angel investing can also be significant, and the more sophisticated HNWIs are prepared to widen their investment instruments. This is starting to happen now.

Perhaps the … poor property investment environment today helps us in promoting angel investing. But once they have had a bite of the cherry, we think angel investing will start to bloom and that will help make it an additional investment class – which is what we hope to achieve in the longer term.

DNA: On the other side of the fence, investors say they cannot find good enough ideas/ people to bet on. As an angel investor yourself, is there substance to this contention?

Sivapalan: This is not true, from what we have seen from our pitching sessions so far. The angels who have attended our pitching sessions now agree that there are good deals out there.

It is important that we curate the better deals so that angels can discover good deal flows. In the future, they will be able to find deal flows themselves, but for now we need to help them.

Also, once we start our education programmes, angels will learn how to be better angels and how to find deals themselves too.

Hence, there is no substance to the notion that there are no good deals in Malaysia. There are, on the contrary, many good ideas and people to invest in.

DNA: Can you share any angel success stories this year so far?

Sivapalan: Depends on your definition of ‘success.’ If success here means an exit. then it is not possible to share much as this is still a very new area. After all, MBAN itself has only been actively promoting deal flows over the last five months.

However, some angels have done deals and have successfully exited, so it has happened before.

DNA Did MBAN put forth any recommendations for Budget 2016 [Malaysia’s national budget for next year] to help the sector? What happened?

Sivapalan: Yes, we did. In terms of the tax incentive, currently angels have to hold on to their investments for two years before they can claim it as a tax deduction. In the United Kingdom, for example, angels get the deduction the same year they invest, but it is limited to 30 per cent of the investment, up to £1 million (RM6.6 million at current rates).

However, they can claim losses from their investments and also get the benefit of capital gains tax (CGT) exemption for the gains from their investments.

We didn’t ask to claim back losses like in the United Kingdom, but we did request for the period to be shortened to either the same year of investment or in the following year.

We also asked for the incentive to be widened to more sectors as currently it is limited to a few tech sectors and doesn’t include greentech or biotech.

Finally, we also supported the Corporate Investment Tax Incentive proposed by the Technopreneur Association of Malaysia (TeAM) as this will allow groups of angels to syndicate deal-making via a corporate entity.

Although none of our proposals were approved, we know that these things take time and we will re-engage with the Government next year.

DNA: What will be the trigger point for angel investing to take off?

Sivapalan: We are already seeing a lot more interest in angel investing today, in terms of the number of HNWIs who have registered with MBAN, the number of angels attending our pitching sessions, and the discussions that are taking place among investors and entrepreneurs.

We believe the ball has started rolling and we want to give it an additional push via our educational programmes and curated deal flows.

Ultimately, when there are more success stories, then angel investing will really take off and we hope this will happen in the next two to three years.

 Source: themalaymailonline.co

Expo on crowdfunding and fintech

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LISTED Australian crowdfunding company CoAssets is organising the inaugural Expo for Property, Investing and Crowdfunding (Epic) in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 24 and 25 to highlight the potential of crowdfunding and financial technology (fintech) in Asia, as well as to connect investors to businesses.

“Crowdfunding in Asia, specifically in Malaysia, is gaining much interest.

“With the Malaysia Securities Commission (SC) issuing six equity crowdfunding licences in June 15, we believe more and more people will want to know what this new trend is all about,” said Getty Goh, CoAssets chief executive officer.

“Although CoAssets does not have an equity crowdfunding licence and we have not done any crowdfunding in Malaysia, we have been active around the region and would like to do our part for the local crowdfunding community.

“Hence, we felt organising a major expo would help bring topics like crowdfunding as well as fintech to a wider audience,” he said.

Goh said they had lined up many prominent speakers to share their crowdfunding expertise, including Elizabeth Siew, lawyer and managing partner of Iqbal Hakim Sia & Voo, and representatives from PropellarCrowdPlus and Eureeca, two of the six approved equity crowdfunding platforms in the country.

Property advisor and investment coach Milan Doshi will also be speaking, giving attendees a good mix of property, investment and crowdfunding presentations during the two-day event.

To create greater exposure to the crowdfunding ecosystem, CoAssets has shortlisted six startups to showcase their products and offerings at Epic. Startups looking for funding and business opportunities in Malaysia will also be participating in a pitching contest.

The most popular startup with the highest vote will be awarded with RM10,000.

Some of the startups involved in this contest include I Transcend, ParkEasy, Square Social Com-merce, ImageCrowd and Busttle Eco Ride.

There will also be a lucky draw, with participants standing a chance to win RM10,000 cash in prize. In addition, developer Hatten Properties will sponsor a three-day, two-night trip to Malacca.

Prior to this upcoming event, CoAssets successfully organised an Epic expo in Singapore in July.

The event attracted more than 900 participants, comprising industry stakeholders, businesses and investors. It also drew 16 exhibitors from eight countries, namely Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Mongolia, Cambodia, Australia and the UK.

MayBank, Propertyguru and Seristine Properties Ltd were among companies that attended the Singapore event.

In total, more than S$9mil worth of business deals were generated.

“We received positive feedback from exhibitors and event attendees,” reported CoAssets chief techinical officer Seh Huan Kiat.

“This is because unlike other expos, we try to organise sessions for businesses and investors to directly connect with each other.

“One such event is the Speed Networking Session, also known as SNS. This is similar to speed dating but it gives business owners an opportunity to meet as many investors as possible and vice versa.

“This provides some structure to break the ice, and we have found that exhibitors and attendees were able to have meaningful business discussions after that.”

Source: The Star Online

coassets-event

More information, kindly visit http://s.coassets.com/FF1

Secondary Market a Good Hunting Ground

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The GST also has made sub-sale properties an attractive option as the authorities have made the distinction between those who sell 3 or more units of properties within a period of 12 months and those who sell less than 2 units or less.

The former would be required to register for GST while the latter will not need to levy GST on the buyer. This means that there is potential saving for buyers of sub-sale properties if one takes time to shop.

As in any market, there will definitely be properties that are priced below the market price and diligent investors who know where to look can definitely pick up bargains. However, one needs to keep the fundamentals in sight and not be lured by properties that are selling at too attractive prices. Ultimately, location remains a key determinant of the capital appreciation of a property.

Gain more than just know-hows, attend and discover opportunities, threats and latest trends in property investment today!

This 8th & 9th of AUGUST 2015, Wealth Mastery Academy once again brings to you our Flagship Event: Property Investment Convention & Exhibition 2015 in Kuala Lumpur!

This year we will bring to you Young Property Millionaires who will share with you how they successfully went from ZERO to HERO in the Property Investment scene!

√ Explore the opportunities to make Extraordinary profits even during uncertain times.

√ Discover how you can start investing even with low or no capital

√ Learn how to continue financing your property deals even if you think you have maxed-out your borrowing ability!

Demand For Property Remains Stable Despite Current Challenges

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KUALA LUMPUR, July 14 (Bernama) — Despite the economic and political challenges in the country, demand in Malaysia’s property market has remained stable, said Andaman Property Management Sdn Bhd Managing Director Datuk Seri Dr Vincent Tiew.

He said investors, mainly repeat and first-time home buyers, still continue to purchase and place bookings on new projects although there is a 50-50 chance for loan approval.

“The perception and general sentiment says that the market is doing badly, but the truth is, the sales continue and the buying momentum is consistent, not only from the rich but also in the mass segment.

“So the demand is still there, only that they have to see the right property type,” he told reporters today in conjunction with the Property Investment Convention 2015 to be held on Aug 8-9 here organised by Wealth Mastery Academy Sdn Bhd (WMA).

WMA Chief Executive Officer Datuk Terry Ong said the convention aims to help investors on upcoming market movements and trends for 2015 and the first quarter of 2016.

“Experts will present on various topics on investment strategies such as land acquisition, infrastructure benefits, developer movements and government policies, to share with the almost 1,000 participants we expect in this convention,” said Ong.

Meanwhile, BIG Plots Sdn Bhd Director Tan Hwa Chuan, who is one of the speakers, said the convention also hopes to educate investors and home buyers on how to continuously purchase despite the current negative sentiment in Malaysia.

“The current scenario is not as bad as in 2008 (global financial crisis), and some who have knowledge including overseas investors from China, Hong Kong and Singapore have continued buying, but they are buying it quietly because there is always a good property deal.

“The issue is they need to wait for the trigger point when the market rebounds, and when that comes, they will be the first to catch the ‘wolves’,” said Tan.

— BERNAMA

Investing the Right Way

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Joint Venture Investing is the Right Way to invest. Why? It allow us to minimize the impact of invest and increase our reach on our investment road map. Let’s break it down into the essential part for investing in property. First we need a certain amount of capital, second we need to have a salary that able to cover our loan amount, third “age” which determine how long your loan term can reach as the longer the term the better and finally the knowledge.

For 1 person to able to able to fulfill all these is hard as it only few people that able to achieve that. So what about those that did not have the basic criteria to be able to fulfill? That when Joint Venture Investing is the right way to invest.

If a person who is in his/her mid 20’s which have the ability to get loans from the bank both in term of his/her salary & age but not the capital and knowledge, he/she must find a elder person who have the capital and knowledge. With both utilizing both advantage then the basic criteria is fulfill. We know well this is an method that exit the problem is preventing Joint Venture Investing melt down and a exit plan if one does not wanted to continue be involve, this is to protect both party.

Hence, this year PIC we are honor to be able to invite Chris Tan a lawyer and founders of Chur Association. He will touch on the the Joint Venture Investing and teach how to prevent dispute between joint venture party. Sharing his knowledge on how to be able to protect joint venture party and ensure that there is an exit plan in place to in cast any break of joint venture.

In the past joint venture investment is been known widely but the main cons is on the exit plan and also the dispute  arrangement. Therefore, if we remove both of these obstacle, joint venture investing is the right way to invest.

PIC 2015 – No Capital, No longer a Problem

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Property investment can be a long-term endeavour, such as earning the rental an apartment building, or an intended short-term investment in the case of flipping. That is the way of property investment but have you ever wonder is there any other way to invest in property? Now this is where Property Investment Convention 2015 (PIC2015) come into play.

We all know investment mean you need a certain amount of capital and when we talk about property it is a ball game of “tens-of-thousands”. This makes investing an even harder game as for the young adults who just on their dawn of career or the middle-age men who had caped his loan ability due to his 1st property.

You might be thinking young adults who are in their mid 20’s is to be expected not to have the money to invest one way or another. However, during young age we have the spirit, passion and most important of all the energy to fight for what we want most. Money had been an issue of life whether you like it or not. Hence, investment should start at a young age when both your brain and your energy level are high, start doing it right.

For the middle-age group, if one had have his property house that enough as many are not even capable of owning any. Wrong, middle-age group are the one that needed investment even more as their family is setting up. Money will be even more important as the dependency of money increased.

PIC 2015 will open up your mind and guide you through a different method or we called it “Creative Method” to venture into property investment while keeping check with your financial budget. Join us and learn from John Lee (one of our speaker in PIC2015) how to invest in property with a different method.

Dump the mindset of investing the old and traditional way and learn how to invest a different way. John Lee will guide you through how to invest in a way that he had mastered in and are using it widely in Malaysia and also UK. Plus, he is a international speaker and own millions pounds of property all across UK.

Hint: Think about your car, which you are paying back loan to the bank after you buying it. Your driving it, using it, owning but do you really have full control in it? Try miss 1 month of loan payment, and see what happen to your car.

MOC《资本圈》企业参访 | MOC Capital Circle – Corporate Visit

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Good news! < MOC Capital Circle> brought you another exciting corporate visit to Korea Wallpaper and Mediasoft Entertainment on 26th of June 2015! Entrepreneurs tends to learn from each other, increase value to the company, hence, create absolute advantage !!!

Below is the details of two company:

Korea Wallpaper:
－Founded in 2009, ASEAN’s Largest wallpaper gallery at KL, JB, Penang and Melaka.
－Industry leader showcasing thousands of collections imported from South Korea.
－Public recognise its BRAND for highest standard wallpaper at lowest price.

Mediasoft Entertainment:
－Mediasoft is a MSC Status Company and Autodesk Certified Partner.
－Malaysia’s largest game company with 80 employee come from Malaysia, India, Brazil, Germany
－Asia’s Awards winning and Star employer in the local game industry and Universities.

Corporate visitation agenda：
9.30am Korea Wallpaper Reception Registration
10am -11am Korea Wallpaper Corporate Visit
11.15am Mediasoft Entertainment Reception Registration
11.30am -12.30pm Mediasoft Entertainment Corporate Visit
1pm – 2.30pm Networking Luncheon & MOC Sharing
2.45pm End

Credit to <MOC Capital Circle> arrangement，Networking Luncheon sponsored by Korea Wallpaper and Mediasoft Entertainment.

Entrepreneurs and investors that eager to learn how to leverage on Capital Mechanism MUST register. Due to limited seat available, REGISTER NOW, FIRST COME FIRST SERVE BASIS.

Instant Registration hotline:
Queenie ＋019 331 7818
Zoe +018 211 7178

 

好消息！ MOC《资本圈》携您一起于6月26日（五）企业参访Korea Wallpaper 和 Mediasoft Entertainment！企业之间相互学习、提高企业价值、打造企业的绝对优势！

以下是两家优秀企业的简介：
Korea Wallpaper:
－2009年创立，如今是东盟最大壁纸展示厅，分别位于吉隆坡、柔佛、槟城与马六甲
－行业佼佼者，展示过千进口韩国集合系列
－享誉公认品牌－提供最高水准但最低价格的壁纸

Mediasoft Entertainment:
－MSC公司，也是Autodesk认证伙伴
－马来西亚最大游戏公司，超过80位来自世界各地员工（马来西亚、印度、巴西、德国等等）
－荣获亚洲大奖与Star Employer、并获得Apple，Google Store 与Windows Store等各种奖项

流程：
9.30am Korea Wallpaper接待处集合报到
10am-11am Korea Wallpaper 参访
11.15am Mediasoft Entertainment 接待处集合报到
11.30am-12.30pm Mediasoft Entertainment 参访
1pm-2.30pm 午餐交流与MOC分享
2.45pm 圆满结束

在此感谢MOC团队的细心安排，也感恩Korea Wallpaper与Mediasoft Entertainment赞助午餐！
席位只限50位，请尽快报名！

报名热线：
婷婷 ＋019 331 7818
佳蓁 +018 211 7178
WMA富道学院启

PRESS RELEASE: Rise of ASEAN Conference and the 8th Global Entrepreneur Roundtable 2015

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PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION

Rise of ASEAN Conference and the 8th Global Entrepreneur Roundtable 2015; First ever joined entrepreneur and investment outlook into ASEAN

2nd April 2015, Kuala Lumpur- MOC Capital Berhad in collaboration with wealth Mastery Academy and MICE Preferred has presented in-depth information with regards to The Rise Of ASEAN Conference and the 8th Global Entrepreneur Roundtable in Kuala Lumpur. A press conference was held at the Park Royal Hotel, Kuala Lumpur chaired by Dato’ Terry Ong CEO of Wealth Mastery Academy, Dato’ Tony Looi from Persatuan Usahawan Maju Malaysia (Pumm) and Datin’ Samantha Tee COO of wealth mastery academy.

The event scheduled for the 17th of April- 19th April at the Hilton Kuala Lumpur and will be attended by at least 300 delegates from around ASEAN. Malaysia, a growing nation was quoted to be as “A nation capable of being a central business hub for ASEAN for business and business expansion. We want our nation to match businesses on a global scale” this was a key talking point during the press conference, quoted by the CEO of Wealth Mastery Academy Dato’ Terry Ong. Besides conferences that are planned to take place on the specified dates, there will also be cultural night on the second day of the event. This is planned so that Malaysia can showcase to the world that Malaysia not is melting pot of cultures not only locally but also internationally. The introduction of Malaysian hospitality and culture to the other member nations and delegates was also very much stressed on.

Dato Tony Looi also quoted that “We want our nation to grow as a whole, to promote international businesses into Malaysia also matching them with existing businesses”. As quoted by Datin’ Samantha Lee “From the pass GER events we’ve manage to gain the followers and support to make this 8th conference a successful one. This would be the 8th conference that we will be organizing and it is honour as it will be hosted in our home nation”. This conference will provide an opportunity to both Malaysian and foreign delegates the opportunity to witness how that investments can transcend borders and local policies at the same time achieving the desired business aspirations that have been set.

As a whole, This conference is targeted to attract individual that are directly or indirectly involved in investment, entrepreneurs, small and medium business owners, bankers, fund managers, portfolio management and various investment authorities to understand better the economic climate and market ASEAN has to offer.

For more information, please contact

+6018 – 211 8178 / +6018 – 201 1178

aseanrise.com

ASEAN, the Future of Economic Growth

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“ASEAN faces the future with confidence. Its strong foundation and remarkable achievements will serve ASEAN well as it pursues higher goals at the dawn of the new millennium. The ASEAN Heads of Government have reaffirmed confidently that Cooperative peace and shared prosperity shall be the fundamental goals of ASEAN. Economically, ASEAN shall move towards greater economic integration with emphasis on sustainable and equitable growth. Finally, ASEAN shall nourish a caring and cohesive ASEAN community, whose strength lies in fostering a common regional identity and a shared vision for the future, it all comes back to the basics and foundations that naturally is nourished among ASEAN countries.”

Want to know more on how you could be a part of this bright future? For more information on how you could be part of this kindly visit www.aseanrise.com