IFast, analysts refute short-seller claims

Bank and wealth management platform iFast Corporation has refuted claims made against the Singapore-listed company in a recent short-seller report.

The sustainability of its Hong Kong ePension unit’s revenue, the health of its UK digital bank, and its profitability as it grows its assets under administration (AUA) were called into question by a report from Sakura Research.

Lim Chung Chun, CEO and chairman of iFast / Photo credit: Lim Chung Chun

In June 2023, iFast ePension Services launched a digital solution for contributions to Hong Kong’s Occupational Retirement Schemes Ordinance (ORSO).

In its latest earnings for the half year ended June 30, 2024, iFast attributed the 58.1% rise in revenue it posted to increased contributions from its ePension division in Hong Kong and improvements across its wealth management platform business.

In a call with The Business Times, a Sakura Research spokesperson said iFast’s Hong Kong ePension division will observe a 70% to 80% drop in revenue after the project is fully implemented in 2025.

IFast’s ePension unit / Photo credit: iFast

Comparing the ePension project to other IT projects undertaken by solutions providers such as Silverlake Axis, the spokesperson said there is typically a fall in revenue after the project enters a “maintenance phase.”

Declining to be named, the spokesperson did not disclose any other information about Sakura Research except to say that they are a group of traders and analysts investing their own and their friends’ money.

Sustained revenue

In response to the report, an iFast spokesperson said the company has continued to guide for revenue from its ePension division to be sustained over a contract period of seven years.

At iFast’s latest earnings briefing, chief executive Lim Chung Chun said revenue recognition for the ePension division will increase as overall onboarding level goes up.

“[The] first three quarters of this year is probably a similar kind of revenue, and then that starts to increase to a higher level, maybe [at the] end of this year going into next year,” he said, adding that he foresees additional increases in revenue going into 2026.

Banking on growth