Jirnexu, a fintech company part of one of the two licensed Islamic digital bank consortiums in Malaysia, has soft launched Halogen Capital, a crypto fund management company which offers Shariah compliant investment opportunities.
Said to be the first digital asset fund manager to be licensed by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC), Halogen holds a full capital market services license to manage digital assets such as cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens, and tokenized assets.
While it does not explicitly present itself as an Islamic asset manager, its entire portfolio is entirely Shariah compliant. It has announced three funds so far: the Halogen Shariah Bitcoin Fund, to commence on the 23rd August 2023; the Halogen Shariah Ringgit Income Fund, which commenced on the 20th July; and the Halogen Shariah Ethereum Fund, which has yet to be officially launched.
According to Founder and CEO Hann Liew, Halogen will cater to institutional and individual investors by providing access and professional management through traditional structures such as mutual funds and managed portfolios. The firm hopes to also introduce exchange-traded funds “soon”.
Hann, along with Lucas Ooi, co-founded Jirnexu in 2012, which began as a comparison website for financial products under a different brand. Since then, it has grown (and rebranded) into an end-to-end digital acquisition platform, alternative credit scoring, lending-as-a-service and digital market solutions and services for financial services institutions in Asia.
Last year, Jirnexu, as part of a KAF Investment-led consortium comprising MoneyMatch and Carsome, secured one of the five digital bank licenses granted by Bank Negara Malaysia. Specifically, the consortium is licensed under the Islamic Financial Services Act 2013 and is one of only two digital bank licensees operating on a fully Shariah compliant basis.
Earlier this month, Hann and Lucas revealed they would step down from their executive roles at Jirnexu and instead take on advisory roles while remaining as shareholders. It is learned that they both have been working on Halogen Capital. Lucas serves as founder and chief business officer for the new venture.