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How Fusionex went from $106M to $0

Fusionex bridged the gap between business and technology by helping clients manage, make sense of and derive useful insights from both structured and unstructured data. 🏆 Fusionex became a Malaysian overnight success story when it listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in December 2012 and raised RM500 million in 2013 when its IPO was oversubscribed by more than 3 times. Because of its clientele, global recognition and achievement, Ivan was named EY Technology Entrepreneur of the Year Malaysia in 2014. 📉 However, in 2017, Fusionex dropped a huge announcement that shocked investors. Ivan, together with major shareholders, decided to delist from LSE and take it private because they felt undervalued by the market and the costs of listing on LSE could be better spent on the business. We believe that in time to come, we will demonstrate that our decision to go private at this stage will unlock the true value of Fusionex. Despite delisting in 2017, Fusionex’s growing fame and positive press attracted Hitachi’s attention as the Japanese conglomerate wanted to venture into AI and big data. Well… guess what? In 2020, Hitachi acquired Fusionex for RM545 million 💰💰💰 While it might seem that Hitachi’s acquisition was a happy ending for Fusionex and Ivan, the marriage didn’t last long due to a lack of transparency and mismanagement. Things began to fall apart. ⚠️ As reported by Tech in Asia: March 2023 — Hitachi began to see problems when they wanted to conduct internal audits (normal exercise on its subsidiaries every 3 years) on Fusionex. However, Ivan and his team didn’t comply with the request as they said they were not allowed to share data with foreign parties due to “government directive”. October 2023 — Fusionex said they would need to retrench staff as part of its cost-cutting measures. November 2023 — Ivan proposed an immediate capital injection (up to USD150 million) from Hitachi. December 2023 — Fusionex told its staff (over 500 employees) they’ll be retrenched and the company will be liquidated. Ivan resigned from his post as Fusionex’s CEO. Fusionex’s C-suite resigned. Hiroyuki Kumazak took over as the new CEO. Besides, Hitachi also found a number of suspicious transactions (huge volume) that were used to pay as “software development costs“ and “technology fees” provided by V-Circle and Convedge. So what will happen to Ivan and his senior leadership team? We’re not sure yet as Fusionex’s liquidators will determine if Hitachi should pursue legal action against them. But one thing is for sure → Fusionex is closing down soon 🙏🏻 Want to learn more about Fusionex’s downfall? Once a Malaysian success story, Hitachi’s Fusionex comes crashing down Inside the rise and fall of Malaysia’s Fusionex Fusionex to shutter following court order Ivan Teh, the former Group CEO of Fusionex Group At the time of acquisition, Hitachi had “complete confidence” in Ivan and his team. However, Hitachi only uncovered Fusionex’s financial situation in November 2023 when Ivan asked for an immediate capital injection (up to USD150 million) by mid-November. On top of that, Hitachi wasn’t aware of suspicious transactions only until 2023. This shows the lack of due diligence done by Hitachi before acquiring Fusionex. When Ivan asked for an immediate capital injection from Hitachi, it was clear that Fusionex was running out of cash soon. This could be attributed to overspending on different areas, including paying huge “technology fees” to 2 big vendors (V-Circle and Convedge). Fusionex also failed to adhere to corporate governance and financial management requested by Hitachi. To make things worse, the sudden resignation from Ivan and the senior leadership team effectively left the company’s operations in a state of confusion. An acquisition of a company is not the same as buying software, as it involves financial management, corporate governance, tech, operations, sales, Human Resources and many more.

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Fusionex to shutter following court order

Malaysian-headquartered leading data technology company Fusionex Group has wound up following a court order, a move that is expected to affect over 500 employees.

In several documents, group CEO Hiroyuki Kumazaki in an announcement dated Dec 17 said that the winding up of Fusiotech Holdings Sdn Bhd and 12 other wholly-owned subsidiaries was due to “inadequate handover of records and information by the previous management”.

“This decision stems from the insurmountable challenges arising from the inadequate handover of records and information by the previous management, which effectively left Hitachi without any form of information relating to the management, operations, and continuity of the business of Fusionex Group,” he stated.

Kumazaki was appointed the position on Dec 6.

The company was established by Datuk Seri Ivan Teh, who was named as EY Technology Entrepreneur of the Year Malaysia in 2014. He resigned from his post at Fusiotech with immediate effect on Dec 6 with other key resignations. His position at Fusionex is still unclear.

“The previous senior management departed the company immediately without any form of handover of the management and the operations. In addition, all information relating to the continuity of the Fusionex operations and business was not shared before or handed over during their departure,” stated the documents.

A high-ranking employee confirmed the news. “[It’s not a stop work order]. They are still employed until the liquidation happens, until a court assigns a liquidator. We don’t know [when that will happen]. It depends on the courts hearing and when they assign the liquidator.”

“Essentially the company is winding down. There a lot of people who are worried with the uncertainty. Given their skills and their profile, most would have no issue getting a job soon, that’s my guess,” said the employee.

To facilitate the transition Hitachi will honour December payments to all its employees, stated the documents. On top of that, an additional amount equivalent to a January salary will be given on a goodwill basis. The current management is also arranging support for employees to look for new jobs.

Fusionex is a data technology provider specialising in analytics, big data, machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Hitachi Ltd (Japan) took over Fusionex in 2020 to expand its software-as-a-service, AI and data analytics solutions for businesses in a range of verticals. The goal was to increase, obtain and secure new customer bases, technologies and expertise utilising the resources that Fusionex had cultivated in the Asian region.

“The whole group is affected. There are subsidiaries for training, innovation and R&D, it's the whole group. Malaysia is the HQ. Hitachi takes over and decides to liquidate the organisation, pending some investigation,” said the employee.

“Only then we will find out the cause of the investigation. Anything at this point of time is highly speculative until the investigation is complete. They have gone to court but it needs to go through a hearing before anything takes place. So I’m not sure when the hearing is going to take place. All this is done by Hitachi’s lawyers.”

In 2017, Fusionex withdrew the listing of its shares from London Stock Exchange AIM to be a private company, less than five years after its oversubscribed initial public offering.

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African Union taps Zimbabwe preacher Uebert Angel despite gold smuggling claims

The African Union’s choice of prosperity gospel preacher Uebert Angel to help mediate conflicts across the continent creates its own set of tensions amid swirling allegations of ill-gotten wealth.

The self-styled British-Zimbabwean “prophet” has been appointed the Pan-African Parliament’s ambassador for Interfaith Dialogue and Humanitarian Affairs, a top post aimed at uniting communities riven by xenophobia, ethnic clashes and religious intolerance. The head of the parliament, an advisory body to the AU, is defending the choice of the charismatic church leader who brands himself as the “godfather of the modern-day prophetic movement” despite reports of alleged illegal activity.

The Zimbabwe-born, UK-based Angel was a key figure in an Al Jazeera investigation into gold smuggling in southern Africa earlier this year. He is accused of using his connections with top officials, including President Emmerson Mnangagwa, to help launder dirty cash in exchange for smuggling gold out of the sanctioned country.

Wasn’t me

But speaking at a press conference in Harare in April, Angel’s lawyer Lovemore Madhuku denied the allegations. “My client wants it to be put right across on record that he has never ever done anything on behalf of the President, no deal on behalf of the President, no activities on behalf of the President,” he said.

“My client wants to make it clear that he has no relationship whatsoever with members of the President’s family. He only has a relationship with the President. He actually has never met the First Lady.” Madhuku added that Angel had never been involved in any criminal activities.

“More particularly, he would like it to be stated that he has not been involved in any form of gold dealing or gold smuggling nor has he ever engaged in money laundering. The insinuations in the Al Jazeera documentary are wholly baseless.”

Mnangagwa tapped Angel to be his presidential envoy and Ambassador-at-Large to Europe and the Americas in 2021.

The parliament’s president, fellow Zimbabwean Fortune Charumbira, also dismissed the gold smuggling allegations as hearsay that doesn’t negate Angel’s purported good works in his home country.

Angel was evaluated “on his accomplishments and his ability to contribute to the organ’s goals rather than solely focusing on allegations made by outside sources with limited knowledge of Africa’s plight,” Charumbira tells.

Friends in high places

Some Zimbabwe watchers believe Charumbira is behind Angel’s appointment to the parliamentary post.

Obert Masaraure, a spokesman for the good governance group Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, tells the decision reduces the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) ambassador position to a “big joke”.

“A man exposed in the gold mafia documentary cannot be trusted with such a huge responsibility. One wonders how such a decision was made,” Masaraure says.

“African leaders continue to miss opportunities to demonstrate seriousness and commitment to their duties.,” he adds. “One can guess that this is another case of nepotism since a Zimbabwean is at the helm of PAP. Angel cannot promote dialogue at a time when people in Africa now associate him with the scandal.”

Zambian democracy activist Joseph Kalimbwe is among the critics of the parliamentary decision.

“Angel said [to Al Jazeera undercover reporters] he intended to smuggle gold out of the country but now he is being appointed by the PAP,” Kalimbwe said in a video posted on Twitter on 19 July. “Members of PAP were not consulted and they do not know about the appointment of Angel.” But Angel’s lawyer Madhuku said after realising that the investors in the documentary were not real, Angel decided to play along.

Kalimbwe went on to denounce Charumbira as a “compromised man”.

“What we saw in the appointment of Uebert Angel was a slap in the face,” he said. “The appointment is something we must continue to fight because Charumbira is breaking the rules and protocols of PAP.”

Defending Angel

Charumbira says proper procedures were followed in Angel’s appointment.

“I understand that there might be concerns surrounding Uebert Angel’s involvement in the gold mafia documentary,” the Pan-African Parliament president tells “However, it is necessary to consider certain facts before passing judgement. Firstly, it is important to recognise that Angel was cleared by the Financial Intelligence Unit [of Zimbabwe], indicating that there was no evidence of his involvement.”

He went on to defend Angel’s record as the head of a global GoodNews Church ministry with 3.5 million members and 507 branches worldwide, which he said demonstrates the 44-year-old evangelical businessman’s “immense power to inspire and bring people together.”

This includes philanthropic work across Africa and Asia, where Angel’s business ventures donate food and pay school fees for underprivileged children. Recently he donated 5,600 food parcels to supporters of Zanu-PF at a rally for Mnangagwa’s presidential bid ahead of the 23 August elections.

Angel is also the author of 20 books and the founder of Millionaire Academy, which purports to provide instruction on how to become a successful entrepreneur.

“Angel has demonstrated his ability to lead and unite communities through his interfaith work,” Charumbira says. “It becomes imperative for PAP to judiciously evaluate Angel based on his accomplishments and his potential to contribute towards the organisation’s objectives.”