Malaysia’s ZUS Coffee reportedly eyes IPO after rapid regional expansion

Malaysia’s fastest-moving coffee chain is now looking at a very different kind of milestone. ZUS Coffee, founded in Malaysia in 2019, is reportedly gearing up for an IPO after a regional expansion push that has taken it from a domestic app-first specialty brand to a 1,000-store operator across Southeast Asia.

That growth has been quick enough to catch investor attention. ZUS raised RM250 million in September 2024 in a round led by KV Asia Capital, Kumpulan Wang Persaraan, known as KWAP, and Kapal Api Group. At the time, the company already had more than 600 stores across Malaysia and the Philippines. By October 2025, it had crossed 1,000 stores across Southeast Asia after opening nearly 400 locations since that financing, a pace that put it among the region’s most aggressive coffee chains.

The expansion has not stayed within one market for long. In 2025, ZUS added its first stores in Singapore, Brunei and Thailand, and in April 2025 it said it planned nearly 200 new stores across Southeast Asia by the end of that year, including first sites in Thailand and Indonesia. World Coffee Portal later reported that ZUS entered Thailand with two Bangkok stores in August 2025, then opened its first store in Islamabad, Pakistan, in February 2026. A launch report said 100 free lattes were claimed in the first hour.

Co-founder and chief operating officer Venon Tian said in September 2025 that ZUS aimed to enter Pakistan and Morocco in the first half of 2026, with Pakistan planned through a local master franchise. NST reported in January 2026 that the company was already framing its growth strategy around hyperlocality, local sourcing and job creation in each market, a sign that ZUS wants to sell more than just store count.

That is what makes an IPO such a meaningful test case. Public markets will not just reward speed. They will examine whether ZUS can translate its regional footprint into durable store economics, disciplined market selection and a profit engine that can keep pace with its expansion. Choi Garden Restaurant Group’s 35% stake, acquired in March 2023, adds another layer to the company’s ownership story as it moves from private growth to public-market scrutiny. The next chapter will hinge on whether ZUS can prove that its coffee boom has the structure to match its ambition.