30/09/2026

BIZ & FINANCE WEDNESDAY | SEPT 30, 2026

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Product development, R&D top priorities for NWE Resources

Ű BY JOHN GILBERT sunbiz@thesundaily.com

in operation for 30 years. For the financial year ended March 31, 2026 (FY26), the group’s profit after tax (PAT) rose 23.7% year on-year to RM8.5 million compared to RM6.9 million recorded in FY25, driven by strategic customer por tfolio optimisation and a product mix shift towards higher-margin offerings. Consequently, FY26 gross profit margin widened to 52.4% from 46.7% recorded in FY25, lifting PAT margin to 20.5%. Revenue eased to RM41.6 million from RM43.5 million recorded in FY25, reflecting the intentional rationalisation of lower-margin per sonal care distribution volume under the group’s portfolio optimi sation strategy. KAF Investment Bank director of corporate finance Hon Kim Teng said NWE Resources’ key com petitive strength lies in its ability to develop proprietary formulations tailored to specific customer re quirements, backed by its in-house R&D team. “With more than a third of the IPO proceeds earmarked for product development and R&D, the group is well positioned to build on this core capability. “We look forward to its listing on the ACE Market on Oct 21, 2026,” he said.

The third pillar is the group’s R&D and product development business, where it develops health food products and supplies them to brand owners. “Our R&D team develops proprietary formulations to meet the requirements of our customers and the changing needs of the market. “We believe these three pillars complement one another. We have the distribution channels, access to consumers, and the R&D capability to develop products. This is the platform we intend to build on,” Tan said. With nearly four decades of experience supplying hospitality amenities to a diverse base of hotels and resorts nationwide, catering to premium 4-star and 5-star segments alongside a broad range of hospi tality operators, the group has built long-standing relationships with major clientele that include the Genting, Berjaya, Royale Chulan and Imperial groups of hotels, as well as properties under the Marriott brand. Meanwhile, the group distributes its proprietary health foods (ReDiant, Diva, D’Joy Plus and K Cha) and third-party brands (Miki from Japan), along with its own brands of personal care products (LuxZuki, Aloe Vera Premier Gel, and DX Izumi) via its established M Plan MLM network, which has been

o Company also plans to expand distribution channels and reach more consumers over next two years

KUALA LUMPUR: NWE Resources Group Bhd has set plans to emphasise product development, strengthen research and develop ment (R&D) capabilities, expand distribution channels and reach more consumers over the next two years. Executive director Tan Chor Han said the group aims to develop products that respond to changing consumer needs, bring them to market efficiently and build brands that consumers can recognise and trust. “We will remain focused on disciplined growth, innovation, good governance and creating long term value for our stakeholders,” he said at the group’s prospectus launch yesterday. NWE Resources, a hospitality amenities, personal care products and health foods provider, is raising RM28.6 million from its ACE Market initial public offering (IPO). From the proceeds, NWE Re sources is allocating RM9.1 million, or 31.9%, for new product develop ment expenditure, RM1.2 million, or 4.%, for the expansion of R&D capabilities, RM4.6 million, or 16.% for marketing and promotional activities, RM900,000, or 3.3%, for

RM108 million, based on an enlarged issued share capital of 540 million shares and an IPO price of 20 sen per share. KAF Investment Bank Bhd is the principal adviser, sponsor, under writer and placement agent for the IPO. Tan said that since 1979, NWE Resources has built a strong re putation in the hospitality industry, expanded into health foods and personal care, and developed its own R&D and product development capabilities. Today, NWE Resources’ business is built around three key pillars, with the first being its business-to business distribution business, where the group supplies hospitality amenities to hotels and resorts. The second is the group busi ness-to-consumer distribution busi ness, where it reaches consumers directly through its MLM network, M-Plan. “This gives us a direct channel to consumers for our health food and personal care products,” Tan said.

The partnership will also support talent and skills development through potential co-innovation programmes that provide researchers and students with practical industry exposure; and ecosystem develop ment and routes to commer cialisation for promising innovations and use cases. Areas being considered include smart campus solutions, Internet of Things applications and digital twins, with promising use cases potentially progressing beyond the research stage. Insights from the pilot may also be developed into case studies for EIP’s showcase and knowledge repository. The MoU was executed on behalf of U Mobile by chief technology officer Woon Ooi Yuen and on behalf of IIUM by rector Professor Emeritus Datuk Dr Osman Bakar. Representing the telco at the ceremony was Sandy Tsang, chief financial officer of U Mobile. “Welcoming IIUM as EIP’s first academic partner is an important step in bringing industry and academia closer together. By combining U Mobile’s ULTRA5G capabilities, IIUM’s academic expertise and EIP’s wider the purchase of rooftop solar systems and transportation fleets, RM600,000, or 2.1% for the setting up a new sales office in Johor. Further, the group is allocating RM8.2 million, or 28.7%, for working capital and RM4 million, or 14% for the estimated listing expenses. The IPO comprises a public issue of 143.14 million shares, repre senting 26.5% of the enlarged issued share capital of 540 million shares upon listing. Notably, there are no shares offered for sale by the promoters and substantial shareholders. Of the 143.14 million shares, 27 million shares will be made available to the Malaysian public via balloting. A further 10.8 million shares will be allocated to eligible directors, employees and persons who have contributed to the success of the group (pink form allocation), while the remaining 105.34 million shares will be placed out to selected investors. Upon listing, NWE Resources will have a market capitalisation of

U Mobile welcomes IIUM as first academic partner of its EIP PETALING JAYA: U Mobile, Malaysia’s best 5G network, announced that the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) has become the first academic partner to join its Enterprise Innovation Platform (EIP), creating a practical pathway to connect university research with industry needs and real-world technology adoption. Both organisations will colla Through EIP Hub’s sandbox and testing facilities, selected IIUM research projects can be developed, tested and demonstrated, enabling faster validation of practical use cases and building capabilities relevant to future technologies including 6G.

borate to advance academic research, innovation, and talent development in 5G connectivity and emerging technologies. This collaboration will combine IIUM’s academic and research expertise with U Mobile’s ULTRA5G capabilities and EIP’s industry, technology and innovation ecosystem to explore applications powered by 5G Advanced (5G-A) and artificial intelligence (AI), while building capabilities for future technologies including 6G. As a key activation under the partnership, U Mobile will power IIUM’s 5G Research Lab at the Kulliyyah of Engineering with its ULTRA5G network capabilities, providing researchers and students with a controlled environment to conduct 5G research, testing and teaching. The lab will leverage U Mobile’s 5G network capabilities which have been independently recognised by Ookla and Opensignal as Malaysia’s fastest and a leader in quality and availability.

The MoU exchange was held during the University Research and Innovation Investment Summit 2026 at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur on Sept 22. The ceremony was witnessed by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (eighth from left). Second from right is Tsang and fourth from left is Prof Dr Mohamed Aslam.

“This collaboration strengthens IIUM’s values-driven research eco system, accele-rates innovation in 5G, AI and future 6G applications, and equips our talent with practical industry exposure, reflecting our commitment to producing know ledge that benefits the nation and humanity.” U Mobile welcomes other univer sities, researchers, technology part ners and industry players to explore future collaboration opportunities through EIP and contribute to a more connected and open inno vation ecosystem.

model that can be adapted and scaled through similar collaborations with other universities across Malaysia,” said Tsang. “This strategic partnership brings industry directly onto our campus,” said Professor Dr Mohamed Aslam Mohamed Haneef, deputy rector, research, innovation and develop ment, IIUM. “Through EIP, U Mobile is em powering our researchers and students with real-world 5G infra structure and R&D opportunities that would otherwise take years to build independently.

network of partners, we can give researchers and students a practical environment to test ideas and develop solutions with real-world potential. We will begin by jointly identifying at least two use cases for development, while also helping build the skills and experience needed to support Malaysia’s next phase of digital innovation. “More importantly, this colla boration can serve as a proof point for how academia-industry partner ships can translate research into relevant, industry-driven and im pactful outcomes, while creating a