KarenSoft Technology seeks listing on Mesdaq The Star Newspaper, Friday, April 19, 2002 KARENSOFT Technology Bhd (KTB), a leading local developer of enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions, is seeking a listing on the Mesdaq market of the KLSE to pursue growth and achieve its aim of becoming the leading ERP solutions provider in the Asia Pacific region. “A listing will also provide funds for enhanced R&D activities that will enable us to move farther afield wherever there are potential markets,” KTB founder and chief executive officer Chee Chong Hwa told Star Business in Kuala Lumpur. Chee said that the company was also looking at eastern and northern Europe after the Asia Pacific region. KTB sent in its application for a Mesdaq listing last January and expects to receive the necessary approvals from the relevant authorities by August. Chee said being a Malaysian company, KTB decided to seek a local listing as it looked to growth within the region, and that the listing would help it acquire the necessary liquidity to pursue its aim of helping regional small- and medium-sized industries (SMIs) acquire affordable ERP solutions. He pointed out that as many of these SMIs were involved in manufacturing, they would require ERP solutions that were specifically tailored for their needs so they could remain competitive. “KTB started out providing solutions for Tier One companies, but we have scaled down our solutions to make these more affordable for SMIs, who will need such systems to be competitive in the face of the Asean Free Trade Area,” Chee said. He added that KTB, a business partner of IBM Malaysia, had the necessary expertise and experience to provide SMIs the necessary solutions, which were bundled as a complete package comprising both software and hardware. KTB has ERP solutions that have won awards at both local and regional levels, and the latest version of its software, the ERP 2002, will lead its thrust into the region. By Lincoln Yap