Malaysia’s 3cat Raises $4 Mn to Take Warrantied Used Phones into the Philippines
As memory costs push new phone prices higher, a Kuala Lumpur retailer is betting that warranties and mall stores can turn used phones into a mainstream buy in the Philippines.
3cat
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Malaysia’s pre-owned electronics retailer 3cat raised $4 Mn in a Series A round led by Foxmont Capital Partners, a Philippine early-growth investment firm, with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Singapore-based Golden Gate Ventures participating. The money will take its model into the Philippines, its first market outside Malaysia.
3cat did not disclose its valuation, revenue or how the round was split between investors.
The timing reflects a squeeze on new handsets. Global smartphone retail prices have risen about 15% on average so far in 2026 as manufacturers pass on higher memory and component costs, with Asia-Pacific among the hardest hit at 19%, according to Counterpoint Research. IDC expects 2026 smartphone shipments to fall a record 16.7%.
3cat is betting that pressure will push more buyers towards inspected second-hand devices, provided they can trust what they are buying.
From a Lone Store to 20
Launched in Kuala Lumpur in 2023 as a single store selling pre-owned Apple products, 3cat now runs more than 20 stores across Malaysia. It sells inspected devices at up to 60% below the price of new ones, backed by a 12-month warranty.
Customers can examine and buy devices in mall stores, use financing and get after-sales support in person. The company says most store sales involve an online touchpoint, including its own AI sales agents.
“Trust is what makes this category scalable,” said chief executive Karl Loo, who started the company with Chris Ng, a former founding senior executive at Oppo Malaysia, and Heinrich Wendel, who has a background in product, technology and digital businesses.
The Series A follows a pre-Series A round in June 2025, backed by The Radical Fund, AEON and returning investors including Iterative, TA Ventures and TheVentures.
Why The Philippines
The case rests on scale. The Philippines, with more than 110 Mn people, sold 18.4 Mn smartphones in 2025, nearly twice Malaysia’s volume, according to Euromonitor figures cited by 3cat. The company says a new phone can now cost up to double a Filipino’s median monthly income.
Foxmont gives 3cat a local partner in a market it is only now entering. The investment came from Foxmont’s third fund, and managing partner Jelmer Ikink said premium devices are moving out of reach for many consumers. However, 3cat’s founders have built an omnichannel model they can replicate beyond Malaysia, he added.
ADB’s interest in the deal is partly environmental. Charles Navarro, investment specialist at ADB Ventures, the bank’s venture investment arm, said 3cat could raise quality and after-sales standards in the second-hand device market while extending device life and cutting e-waste.
ADB has also authorised a further $2.8 Mn for future funding rounds, separate from the current one. Its project database lists a $3.8 Mn equity facility, approved on September 11 from the ADB Ventures Investment Fund 2, for 3CAT Holdings. The holding company was incorporated in Singapore in April 2026, and the facility covers Malaysia and the Philippines. But public records do not explicitly set out the holding company’s link to the Malaysian business.
What Has to Work
The opportunity comes with operational risk. Much of the second-hand phone trade still runs through marketplaces and independent sellers without common grading or warranty standards. 3cat will have to prove that its Malaysian unit economics hold once Philippine prices, credit terms and rival sellers come into play.
Supply is the other constraint. A refurbished-device retailer has to pay for its stock before it sells, buying phones and funding the inspection and repair of each one. This will tie up cash as the store network grows.
3cat has announced its Philippine launch but has not said how many stores it will open there, on what timeline or how much of the rollout will begin online.
The next step is for 3cat to lock in a steady supply of quality used devices in the Philippines and show that its warranty and store model hold up outside Malaysia. ADB’s commitment to later rounds gives it room to scale if the first stores deliver.
Malaysia’s pre-owned electronics retailer 3cat raised $4 Mn in a Series A round led by Foxmont Capital Partners, a Philippine early-growth investment firm, with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Singapore-based Golden Gate Ventures participating. The money will take its model into the Philippines, its first market outside Malaysia.
3cat did not disclose its valuation, revenue or how the round was split between investors.
The timing reflects a squeeze on new handsets. Global smartphone retail prices have risen about 15% on average so far in 2026 as manufacturers pass on higher memory and component costs, with Asia-Pacific among the hardest hit at 19%, according to Counterpoint Research. IDC expects 2026 smartphone shipments to fall a record 16.7%.
