PETALING JAYA: Two mechanical engineering graduates made a leap of faith to start a business in a whole different field – information and communications technology (ICT).

Back then, the Internet had only existed for seven years in Malaysia and few people had personal computers at home, but new graduates Ko Yun Hung and Kelvin Pah Wai Onn decided to found SNS Network, a sole proprietorship that provided ICT products and related services.

The decision has paid off handsomely for the duo who have turned their small business in Ipoh, Perak, into one of the largest reseller of ICT products in Malaysia by revenue with annual sales of more than RM1bil.

The ICT provider has rebranded to SNS Network Technology Bhd following its rapid growth with diverse clients ranging from individual consumers to government-linked agencies and corporations.

Ko and Pah, who are the managing director and the executive director respectively, recently launched the prospectus of the company seeking a listing on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia to raise fresh capital to fund its business expansion plans.

Ko and Pah believe the ICT industry has plenty of business opportunities to tap into.

“The ICT industry is always interesting. Before it was called the IT industry and was a new industry that was blooming at that time. I chose this industry because of the opportunities the industry offered.

“My parents helped me to start the business with my business partner and classmate Pah, whose mother contributed to our business capital. As fresh graduates we did not have capital to start a business, but we had many wild ideas,” Ko told StarBiz.

He said it was not easy to succeed in this industry due to plenty of competition with newcomers and large size resellers.

“We chose SNS’s positioning carefully and the target markets we wanted to serve. We identified our niche and made sure we deliver and so we have grown in strength over the years.

“This industry still has a bright future because things are always changing. For instance, after the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of users surged in our company, which translates into many opportunities,” he said.

SNS Network’s growth over the years had faced its challenges, Ko said.

“The main challenge we are facing now is talent. Getting the right talent is very important. The ICT industry is not easy for people to adopt because there is always new knowledge and things are changing rapidly in the industry.

“The commitment is that we have to make sure our people are trained to keep themselves up to date with the latest skills and knowledge in the industry.

“Besides providing training, retaining people is the challenge. Our upcoming initial public offering (IPO) is an opportunity for our employees to participate in the company’s equity.

“We have to provide a better platform to allow employees to have a better career path,” he said.

He advised people who want to venture into the ICT industry to have the commitment to never-ending improvement.

“There are always new things happening and new changes in the ICT industry in terms of product knowledge, technology, and product pricing. This industry moves very fast.

“Skills and knowledge you obtained six months ago can be irrelevant now. Knowledge you acquired today will become obsolete in three years.

“If you want to venture into this industry you have to like what you are doing and to master the ever evolving knowledge. These are the criteria to be successful in the industry,” he said.

SNS’s IPO shares are open for subscription until Aug 18, 2022, with its listing scheduled for Sept 2, 2022.

The company intends to raise RM90.7mil from the issuing 362.9 million new SNS shares, representing 22.5% of the enlarged share capital, at an issue price of 25 sen per share.

SNS will use the proceeds from the IPO for capital expenditure to expand the company’s Desktop as a Service (DaaS) subscription-based service and to partly finance the construction of its new regional hub. DaaS is a model for device leasing offered to customers based on monthly subscription payments.

The remaining proceeds will be used to set up 10 new retail stores, to fund marketing activities for its house brand JOI, repay bank borrowings and for working capital as well as defray the listing expenses.

SNS’ core business activities are sale of ICT products comprising hardware, devices and related peripherals of third-party brands and JOI via its physical stores and online and commercial channels.

It also provides device repair and related services for Apple as well as sale of broadband services for Telekom Malaysia, Celcom, Maxis, and other telcos.

SNS Network currently has 18 retail stores in Low Yat Plaza and six in Digital Mall.