Malaysia-based Starbox Group eyes Southeast Asia expansion

PETALING JAYA: Starbox Group Holdings Ltd plans to expand its operations in Southeast Asia following its listing on the US’ Nasdaq market last week.

CEO Lee Choon Wooi said Starbox will go to the Philippines first, then other countries in the region, such as Thailand and Indonesia.

“Our major business focus is still in Malaysia but we have laid the groundwork in other parts of the world, such as the Philippines. So we will go step-by-step from here onwards,” he told the press at Starbox’s initial public offering (IPO) milestone celebration today.

Lee added that Starbox will enhance its ecosystem to help micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) grow.

Headquartered in Malaysia, the company provides cash rebate, digital advertising, and payment solutions that target MSME through its Getbats and Seebats apps.

Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation director of Europe and Americas section Razida Hanim Abdul Razak said the listing is an opportunity for Malaysia to continuously improve its compliance and corporate governance based on requirements of the US regulators.

“Malaysian SME are capable of competing in the global capital market and bringing capital into Malaysia as well as helping to create more jobs for Malaysians. It's time for Malaysian companies to take a more proactive approach to expand in the world,” she added.

Starbox is the first Malaysia-based company listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market with foreign private issuer status.

Last Thursday, Starbox closed its IPO of 5.38 million ordinary shares at US$4 (RM17) per share, including 375,000 ordinary shares issued pursuant to the partial exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option. It began trading last Tuesday under the ticker symbol “STBX”.

The company received aggregate gross proceeds of US$21.5 million from the offering before deducting underwriting discounts and other related expenses, which will be used for the expansion and upgrading of software and systems as well as promoting the brands in Malaysia. Network 1 Financial Securities Inc Is the underwriter and book-running manager for the offering.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Form F-1 showed Starbox’s total revenue increased US$2.8 million to US$2.9 million for the six months ended March 31, 2022, from US$120,000 in the previous year’s corresponding half-year, mainly from its digital advertising services revenue. According to its SEC files, revenue from digital advertising services accounted for over 99% of the company’s total revenue for the six months ended March 31, 2022 and for the fiscal years ended Sept 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

By theSundaily | Hayatun Razak