The other investors are Malaysia’s largest state pension fund, the Retirement Fund Incorporated (KWAP), and Indonesia’s Kapal Api Group, owner of Excelso coffee shops, ZUS Coffee said in a statement sent to Bloomberg News.

The investment “signals a new chapter and springboard for ZUS Coffee’s growth,” the firm said.

The company, which currently has about 550 outlets in Malaysia and 50 in the Philippines, said it will debut in Singapore and Brunei this year and is in talks with potential partners in other countries to build new stores there in 2025.

ZUS Coffee set up its first outlet in Kuala Lumpur in 2019 while also introducing its own app that allows customers to place their orders, even before the global pandemic accelerated a shift toward online ordering.

“With our shared tech-driven approach, we are committed to making specialty coffee accessible,” said company founder and CEO Ian Chua.

The expansion plans of the home-grown coffee chain come at a time when rival Starbucks has been stung by losses following calls to boycott brands perceived to be linked to Israel amid the conflict in Gaza.