Choo says the company has begun the localisation of software and was in the midst of finalising office locations across identified markets, namely, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines, for its expansion.
PETALING JAYA: Autocount Dotcom Bhd
is banking on its regional expansion plans with a break-even target of not more than three years to drive its growth in the near term.
Autocount managing director Choo Yan Tiee said the company had begun the localisation of software and was in the midst of finalising office locations across identified markets, namely, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines, for its expansion.
“Next week, we are making a trip to the Philippines, followed by Thailand, then Vietnam by the end of the month and lastly, Indonesia.
“We have already appointed a recruitment agency in each country, so hopefully we can start interviewing the candidates when we make our trip there.
“We do not plan to hire a lot of personnel, only seven in each country,” he said at a press conference yesterday.
In a statement, the financial management software developer and distributor said the expansion plans were built upon its penetration into the Singapore market in 2017.
Autocount noted that revenue from Singapore made up 18.7% of its total revenue in financial year 2022.
Autocount raised RM30.88mil from the public issue of 93.59 million new shares.
The financial management software developer and distributor made a strong debut on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia with its share price jumping 230% or RM1.09 from its initial public offering (IPO) price of 33 sen apiece.
The stock hit an intraday high of RM1.16 and a low of 69 sen before closing its maiden trading day at 75 sen.
Autocount mainly distributes its AutoCount software to end-user customers through its network of authorised dealers.
The group also serves direct end-user customers which comprise small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in various industries.
As at March 15, 2023, the group had sold 70,000 AutoCount software licences for use by 210,000 businesses and companies, primarily in Malaysia and Singapore.
On this note, Autocount sales and marketing director Ng Boon Thye said the group will continue to target the SME segment in the new markets.
“There are a large number of SMEs in countries across the world. In the future, with advanced features, we may cater to medium and high enterprises. However, our focus is still very much on SMEs.
“We will try to build more applications that can bring value to the SMEs. This will help us to penetrate the market as well,” he said.
The bulk of the company’s IPO proceeds amounting to RM17.3mil or 56%, was allocated for its regional expansion plans.
The adoption rate of digitalisation among local SMEs is still not very high and the implementation of electronic invoicing system (e-invoicing) by the government will spur digital adoption among businesses, Choo stated.
Ng added that it will be good if the government can provide some grants to help SMEs in migrating to a new software.
“Under this development, the SMEs will have no choice but to adopt a software that supports e-invoicing.
“We foresee that this will accelerate their digitalisation journey.
“We are very focused on enhancing our product for regional expansion,” he said.
