CoAssets, once an early entrant in the investment crowdfunding sector and previously traded on the ASX, the Fintech is now deep in trouble according to several reports.
CoAssets started its existence as a crowdfunding platform and migrated to debt financing over time. In 2016, the Singapore-based firm listed its shares on the Australian Stock Exchange. Last year, that decision was reversed, allegedly due to cost and a low level of liquidity.
In late 2020, CoAssets rebranded to a new website CA Funding with the old side CoAssets.com posting an under-maintenance indication.
Last week, TechinAsia reported that investors using the platform may be imperiled as USD$ 30 million was moved to a new entity – “Sunfints” a debt recovery firm that is “virtually unknown.” Even worse, Sunfits apparently said there was no way to recover the money.
Business Times states that an e-mail sent on Dec 28, said that CA Funding is “currently non-operational and insolvent.” The same report claims that investors have filed police reports against co-founders Getty Goh and Seh Huan Kiat.
According to the CA Funding website:
“CA Funding is licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) licensed offering a wide range of opportunities across different industries. Established in July 2013, CA Funding had assisted enterprises to grow their businesses. To date, our company helped raise over SGD $20 million on our platform. CA Funding has more than 70,000 users on our platform. These users include retail investors and high-net worth individuals looking to grow their portfolio. The company is headed by co-founders Getty Goh and Dr Seh Huan Kiat, with the strategic intent of enabling prudent investments through clever financial technology accessible to investors of diverse capital base tranches.”
The site indicates an average rate of return for investors during 2019 of around 14%.
The blog Seedly has outlined the entire odyssey including a shot of a now removed Facebook post by Goh that denied responsibility for the problems.
BusinessTimes sites CoAssets’ last annual report that reportedly indicates US$ 13.3 million in impairments and a drop in revenue of 250% for the year ending June 30, 2020. It was also reported that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will take action if CA Funding has breached its compliance requirements.
