KUALA LUMPUR: Censof Holdings Bhd has acquired a 7.93% stake, or 41,680 treasury shares in Asian Business Software Solutions Pte Ltd (ABSS) for SG$1.28mil (RM4.09mil).

       In a statement, the financial management software solution provider said the acquisition increased its equity interest in ABSS to 97.00% from 89.07% currently, upon completion of the acquisition.

       Censof said the acquisition is expected to improve Censof’s earnings with its higher equity interest in ABSS.

       It will also enhance the group’s long-term growth potential as well as strengthening its position as a market leader to provide the full spectrum of financial management solutions across all levels of market segment, it said.

       Group managing director Ameer Shaik Mydin said the additional investment in ABSS is yet another one of its strategic decisions to enhance its financial performance in the near future.

       “As we have always said, Censof is not only offering financial management solutions to the government sector, it is also aggressively expanding into the commercial and SME segment. ABSS is an excellent platform for us to grow.

       “Back in 2015, we have acknowledged ABSS’ potential, with its strong presence in Southeast Asia and that was when we decided to acquire a 51% equity interest. Since then, we have increased our stake to 89.07% as of April last year. Over the last six years, we have seen exponential growth in ABSS.

       “To date, ABSS has declared a total dividend of S$6.3mil or approximately RM20mil since the acquisition in 2015. On average, ABSS serves more than 300,000 SME clients across Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong, where ABSS is currently the market leader in Hong Kong and Singapore,” Ameer said.