Excel Force's RM26.66 Million Cash Drop Puts Funding Plan and Ownership Changes in Focus

Cash falls 81% as Excel Force seeks fresh funding

Excel Force MSC Bhd's cash and bank balances fell from RM33.01 million on June 30, 2026, to RM6.35 million on September 21, a decline of RM26.66 million in less than three months. The Malaysian technology company is now seeking fresh money from investors while most of its remaining cash is already earmarked for other needs.

The company, which supplies IT solutions to stockbroking firms and investment banks, made no major acquisitions funded with cash during that period and has not provided a clear explanation for the decline. Its proposed private placement would raise about RM10.98 million at an illustrative share price of 18 sen, according to its official announcement.

Excel Force's funding request comes during a change in its ownership and board. Taiwanese investor Wang Kuen-Chung, known as Jeff Wang, has become its largest shareholder, while former controlling shareholder Wong Thean Soon has been selling shares amid financial pressure involving his holdings in Zetrix AI Bhd.

The immediate issue for Excel Force is how much money it has available for daily operations. Of the RM6.35 million remaining on September 21, RM5.20 million was earmarked for information security certification, product development and repayment of bank borrowings. That leaves RM1.15 million outside those stated commitments.

Newly appointed managing director Goh Jooi Shen said the placement would support working capital and ongoing projects, including a brokerage management solution contract worth RM49.65 million that is expected to be completed by the end of 2028. Working capital is the money a business uses to pay expenses while it carries out work and collects payments from customers.

What the remaining RM6.35 million must cover

Excel Force's private placement announcement gives a detailed breakdown of the cash already earmarked. RM2.10 million is intended for implementing the ISO 27001 Information Security Management System and obtaining related certification. ISO 27001 is a standard for managing information security risks.

Another RM1.80 million is reserved for product development, including improvements to existing software applications and system solutions. The remaining RM1.30 million is intended for repayment of bank borrowings.

Together, those commitments account for about 82% of the September 21 cash balance. The RM1.15 million outside those allocations is equivalent to roughly 3.5% of the RM33.01 million held on June 30.

The filing explains why Excel Force wants additional resources for future spending. The RM26.66 million reduction between June and September remains unexplained in detail. A breakdown of payments, receipts and movements in deposits or short term funds would help shareholders understand how the balance changed.

How the placement money would be spent

Excel Force proposes issuing up to 60,987,800 new shares. At the illustrative price of 18 sen each, those shares would generate RM10,977,804, rounded to RM10.978 million in the proceeds table. The initial description of the proposal cited a fundraising amount of up to RM10.66 million; the official announcement sets out the RM10.98 million illustration.

After estimated placement expenses of RM220,000, the company expects about RM10.758 million for working capital. It plans to spend that money within 12 months of completing the placement.

Operating expenses would take RM8.606 million, or 80% of the working capital allocation. These include staff costs, software licences and subscriptions, cloud hosting, data centre charges, system maintenance and cybersecurity expenses.

The remaining RM2.152 million, or 20%, would cover general and administrative costs, including utilities, rent, professional fees and office upkeep. The final amount raised will depend on the actual issue price and number of shares placed.

A project running to 2028 adds to cash needs

Excel Force said it secured a system application development and implementation project from a new client in May 2026. The official filing says the work is expected to continue until 2028 and will require more operating resources for development, implementation and delivery.

Goh also identified a RM49.65 million brokerage management solution project expected to finish by the end of 2028. The company plans to allocate RM2.05 million to personnel and computer hardware for that project.

A contract's total value and the cash available to carry it out are different things. A software supplier may have to pay employees, buy equipment and maintain systems before receiving all its customer payments. That helps explain why a company with a substantial contract can still need working capital.

Excel Force's board said in the placement announcement that it had evaluated the funding requirements and considered raising equity an appropriate way to obtain money promptly:

The Board is of the view that capital fund raising via the Proposed Private Placement will provide the necessary funding on an immediate basis.

The company expects to complete the placement in the first quarter of 2027. It requires Bursa Securities approval for the listing and quotation of the new shares, along with any other relevant approvals or consents that may be needed.

New shares would reduce existing ownership percentages

Excel Force had 609,878,375 issued shares at the date used in the placement announcement. Issuing the maximum number proposed would increase that total to 670,866,175, an increase of approximately 10%.

Existing investors would own a smaller percentage of the enlarged company unless they acquired additional shares. This is called dilution: the number of shares they hold can stay the same while their share of the total falls.

Jeff Wang's 111,822,500 shares represented 18.34% at the filing date. Under the placement illustration, that holding would become 16.67%. Wong's direct interest would fall from 7.23% to 6.58%, while his indirect interest would decline from 6.77% to 6.16%, assuming the holdings used in that illustration stayed unchanged.

Excel Force said the placement was not expected to have an immediate material effect on earnings per share apart from dilution caused by the additional shares. Earnings per share measures how much company profit is attributable to each share. More shares can reduce that figure until profits grow sufficiently to offset the increase.

Ownership changes continue after the announcement

Excel Force's ownership has continued to shift since the placement calculations were prepared. Wong sold 24.05 million Excel Force shares on October 5. By October 8, he held 38.57 million shares directly, equivalent to 6.324%, and almost 12 million indirectly through Asia Internet Holdings Sdn Bhd, equivalent to 1.967%.

Those later holdings total about 8.29%, compared with approximately 14% in direct and indirect interests at the placement filing date. The filing's dilution calculations therefore describe the holdings at that earlier date, while the October figures reflect subsequent disposals.

Four new directors joined Excel Force's board and three independent directors resigned during the wider reshuffle. Datuk Seri Farhash Wafa Salvador is executive chairman, while Goh has taken over as managing director.

The company also extended its financial year end to December 2026 after auditor TGS TW PLT resigned. The fundraising proposal, board changes and altered reporting calendar put several important corporate decisions close together, increasing the value to shareholders of a detailed explanation of the cash movements.

Why Wong's Zetrix AI share sales matter

Wong's reduced Excel Force holding forms part of a much larger retreat across his listed investments. At Zetrix AI, where he is managing director, his combined direct and indirect stake had fallen to 8.245% by October 8. He sold another 46.88 million shares that day at 7.5 sen each, worth approximately RM3.52 million.

His Zetrix AI holdings fell from 2.33 billion shares before the selloff began in late August to 651.14 million shares, a reduction of about 72%. Wong said the disposals were forced rather than voluntary and said he might take legal action over alleged collusion and price manipulation.

Court documents concerning margin financing describe repeated requests for more time to meet demands from CGS International. A margin loan allows an investor to borrow against shares. When the shares lose value, the lender can demand more cash or collateral and may sell pledged shares if the shortfall remains.

CGS International granted Wong a RM60 million facility in September 2022, later increased to RM90 million. Asia Internet Holdings had a separate RM30 million facility. In a September 18 letter of demand, lawyers acting for CGS International said Wong owed RM50.9 million including interest, while Asia Internet Holdings owed RM22.83 million.

A timeline of cash pressure and falling shares

Excel Force's cash decline unfolded alongside mounting pressure on Wong's shareholdings. The key dates show how quickly the financial position and ownership picture changed:

• May 2026: Excel Force secured a system application project expected to run until 2028.
• June 16: CGS International wrote to Wong about margin calls on his account and Asia Internet Holdings' account. Extensions followed through the following months.
• June 30: Excel Force reported RM33.01 million in cash and bank balances.
• August 26 to September 2: Zetrix AI shares fell from 66 sen to 22 sen, a decline of about two thirds.
• September 18: CGS International's lawyers demanded payment of the amounts owed by Wong and Asia Internet Holdings. Zetrix AI also postponed its scheduled cash dividend following a court order.
• September 21: Excel Force's cash and bank balances stood at RM6.35 million.
• September 28: Zetrix AI's delayed dividend payment date followed two postponements.
• October 5: Zetrix AI reached a low of 6.5 sen, and Wong sold 24.05 million Excel Force shares.
• October 8: Further sales brought Wong's combined Zetrix AI stake to 8.245%.

Zetrix AI closed at 8.5 sen on October 9, while Excel Force closed at 15 sen. Wong also sold about 103.6 million shares in point of sale systems provider Cuscapi Bhd during September, reducing another listed investment.

The bond covenant adds another pressure point

Zetrix AI's RM2 billion Islamic bond contains a covenant requiring Wong to remain the group's single largest shareholder. A covenant is a condition a borrower agrees to meet. Breaching it can give bondholders rights under the financing terms, potentially including a demand for repayment.

MARC Ratings placed Zetrix AI's rating on MARCWatch Developing after the sharp reduction in Wong's holding, citing the smaller buffer available to satisfy that ownership condition. The immediate risk depends on his position relative to other shareholders. No determination of a covenant breach was given.

Zetrix AI has also faced pressure involving its government services business. Its subsidiary MyEG was suspended from acting as a Road Transport Department collection agent over reported arrears of RM314 million. An earlier description put the unpaid amount at more than RM200 million.

The company carried RM3.73 billion in development costs and RM532.88 million in digital assets at June 30, 2026. Development costs had risen from RM2.85 billion at the end of 2025, an increase of about 31% in six months. Digital assets increased from RM376.61 million over the same period.

Those figures describe Zetrix AI's balance sheet, while Excel Force's immediate funding request concerns its own operating expenses and project delivery. For Excel Force shareholders, the next scheduled milestone is completion of the proposed placement in the first quarter of 2027, subject to approvals. The central outstanding issue is a detailed explanation of the RM26.66 million cash reduction.

Key Points

• Excel Force's cash and bank balances fell by RM26.66 million, or about 81%, between June 30 and September 21, 2026.
• RM5.20 million of the remaining RM6.35 million was earmarked for security certification, product development and bank borrowings.
• The official placement illustration would raise about RM10.98 million, with RM10.758 million allocated to working capital.
• The placement would increase the share count by approximately 10% and is expected to finish in the first quarter of 2027, subject to approvals.
• Wong's combined Excel Force holding fell to about 8.29% by October 8 following further sales.
• At Zetrix AI, Wong's reduced holding has narrowed the buffer for a bond condition requiring him to remain the largest shareholder.