The “unicorn” that forgot to run
Too big to be bought, too slow to change, and short on excuses.
You’re reading a paid version of The Malaysianist, a newsletter on money and power by writer and journalist Emmanuel Samarathisa.
I run monthly and annual subscriptions. There’s also the atas or founding member tier where you get all the perks of an annual subscription and more, such as an annual or founder’s report and insight into how this little corner of the internet fared throughout the year.
Group subscriptions are on the table, if you’re mulling over purchases for your organisation or for family members.
Today’s newsletter is inspired by CIMB Bank Malaysia country head Gurdip Singh Sidhu’s comments last week on TNG Digital, the company behind the eponymous e-wallet.
Bloomberg quoted him saying TNG Digital had reached unicorn status — valued north of US$1 billion — and might be weighing an initial public offering.
He was “very confident” about the unicorn tag, while the IPO is “not something we are rushing into.”
More importantly, he said TNG Digital turned profitable this year, though the newswire’s article offered no specifics.
Like any freshly minted fintech enthusiast (just for today’s newsletter), I went looking for TNG Digital’s 2024 annual report.
At press time, I couldn’t find one. That’s something journalists should have asked Sidhu about, given they cited 2023 numbers1.
TNG Digital’s financial year, at least up to 2023, ended December 31, so its report should have been lodged by June.
While we wait for TNG Digital’s latest financials, I ran a very conservative model.
This has been a nine-figure investment — the money mapped in the newsletter — with close to a decade of burning cash.
If Sidhu’s claim holds, this could be one of the most dramatic fintech turnarounds Malaysia has seen.
Yet despite its growth, including cross-border payments, TNG Digital’s major shareholder — Touch ’n Go Sdn Bhd (TNG) — is already seeing its monopoly slip.
It’s a Monday read. Grab a coffee (or tea, but no spilling) and let’s dive in.