PETALING JAYA: Ekuiti Nasional Bhd (Ekuinas) is looking to nurture Syarikat Hang Tuah Sdn Bhd, the maker of Kopi Hang Tuah, into a business with topline of about RM50mil over the next three years, with that scale expected to give the heritage coffee brand broader access to capital.
Ekuinas chief executive officer Aliff Omar Mohamad Omar said the focus of its capacity-building programme was not to inject capital into participating companies, but to strengthen their business capabilities so they could eventually raise capital on their own.
“We want to open the doors for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) so they are ready to receive investment from outside.
“And we do it through what we call a value-creation plan,” he said at a media briefing following a visit to Kopi Hang Tuah’s factory in Seberang Perai.
“From our perspective, we believe once a company hits RM50mil in top line, that is when the door will open.”
Kopi Hang Tuah is the first company selected under Ekuinas’ Capacity Building programme, which was launched in April to help high-potential lower mid-market bumiputra companies strengthen their business fundamentals and become investment-ready.
Unlike Ekuinas’ private equity and private credit pillars, the capacity-building arm is not an investment platform.
Instead, it works directly with selected companies to identify gaps in their businesses and implement bespoke value-creation plans over three years.
Aliff said the programme was developed based on Ekuinas’ experience working with entrepreneurs and management teams, which showed that capital accounted for only part of the challenges faced by companies seeking to scale.
“Maybe 30% to 40% is a problem of capital. The bigger problem is actually capacity,” he said.
This includes the ability to build the right organisation, enter new markets and scale operations, he said, adding that capital alone did not guarantee growth.
For Kopi Hang Tuah, Ekuinas will focus on six areas – strategy, finance, people, sales and marketing, operations, and regulatory and compliance – as it works with the company to prepare it for its next stage of growth.
Aliff said Kopi Hang Tuah already had several fundamentals needed to scale, including market access, production capacity and a strong balance sheet.
The company is also highly undergeared, with only minimal gearing through credit lines, leaving room to tap additional financing as the business expands, he said.
“From a financial perspective, the income statement and balance sheet are all there. But in order to do well in the middle market, especially in the fast-moving consumer goods segment, where you are competing against foreign brands and local brands, it needs to be beyond that,” he said.
“It’s beyond capital. It’s capability and capacity.”
Kopi Hang Tuah traces its roots to 1955, when its traditional coffee powder business was established as a family business.
Commercial production and marketing of Serbuk Kopi Campuran Hang Tuah began on Aug 30, 1957, a day before Malaya’s independence.
Kopi Hang Tuah chief executive officer Mohd Shahrizal Zoal said the company operates across Peninsular Malaysia through nine states branches and distribution centres and is focused on expanding its presence in major supermarket chains and modern trade outlets.
“For now, we will make sure that all our products will be in every major supermarket. We want 100% visibility and accessibility for consumers. That’s our target,” he said.
The company’s plant currently operates at about 65% utilisation on a single-shift basis, which Mohd Shahrizal said is sufficient to meet current demand.
He said its two-in-one coffee, currently its main-selling product, can be packed at a rate of about 56 sachets a minute, producing around 300 cartons of coffee a day.
The company also saw an improvement in its modern trade segment in 2025 and has grown alongside the expansion of the channel, he said.
With about 35 stock keeping units, Mohd Shahrizal said Kopi Hang Tuah plans to introduce four to five new products to broaden its appeal, particularly among younger consumers, while strengthening its digital presence.
The expansion comes amid intense competition in the coffee market, with the company competing against both local and international brands for shelf space and consumer attention, including in the digital space.
For Ekuinas, the objective now is to help Kopi Hang Tuah build on its existing foundation, grow sustainably and ultimately gain greater access to capital.
“In the investment world, the rule of thumb is that capital will always follow the success of the company. Success begets success,” Aliff said.
Looking ahead, Aliff said Ekuinas aims to take on two to three companies a year under the capacity-building programme, with candidates selected through a stringent assessment process.
Some companies may apply to participate, while others may be approached by Ekuinas, but all candidates are assessed by a committee for their suitability and readiness for the programme, he said.
Aliff said the capacity-building programme was distinct from Ekuinas’ Catalyst programme, which is aimed at smaller SMEs, generally with a top line of below RM1mil.
“The programmes that we do for Catalyst are largely modular. We do a batch of 15 to 20 companies based on modules. We go for numbers as opposed to depth,” he said.
By contrast, Aliff said the capacity-building programme takes a more hands-on approach, working intensively with a smaller number of companies to address specific business gaps over a longer period.
While the programme is intended to improve the financial performance and capabilities of participating companies, Aliff said the ultimate objective was for them to stand on their own feet and eventually raise capital independently.
He said Ekuinas could also potentially become a source of capital for the companies once they had achieved sufficient scale and met its investment criteria.
