Wednesday, 23 September 2026 · Daily Market Intel

Market IntelWed, 23 Sept

Two visually impaired KL friends open drink stalls on US$1,200.

Stall economics focus · cheaper inputs · receipt credit

Someone's payday
- What does it take to open a KL drinks stall? Blind Brew started on US$1,200 — The Star
  Foo Yi Xeng, 25, and Sky Soong Kok Yaw, 44, both partially blind, opened Blind Brew stalls in Brickfields and Cheras last month on a US$1,200 charity grant. Lemonade sells for US$0.86; cendol, the iced coconut-milk dessert drink, for US$1.50.
  Positive-sum angle: Sealed pre-packs, delivered supplies and a drinks machine let the stall run without full sight. The charity behind it, Persatuan Amal Indah, plans another Cheras outlet with a third visually impaired worker, and Malaysia's 61,000 registered visually impaired people gain a model that pays a wage.
  What's the impact: A KL charity, mall or café with an unused corner should cost a Blind Brew-style kiosk this quarter; US$1,200 (RM5,000) opened this one. The recipe is pre-packed stock, daily delivery and one volunteer keeping the accounts, and nobody sells it as a franchise yet.
Your costs
- Beans are 21% cheaper this year; should a KL café cut its US$2.40 latte? — New Straits Times
  Arabica traded at US$2.81 a pound on 20 September, down 21% this year after nearly doubling across 2024 and 2025. ZUS Coffee still sells its CEO Latte for US$2.40; Starbucks Malaysia charges about US$3.90.
  Positive-sum angle: Brazil's record crop refills warehouses and eases the squeeze on every roaster and café that absorbed two years of rising bean prices. Operators on six- or twelve-month contracts see the relief later, and the margin it returns pays for rent and wages, the larger share of a cup.
  What's the impact: A Malaysian café whose bean contract renews before year-end should reprice it at today's US$2.81 a pound and hold the menu price. Rent and labour cost more per cup than beans, says Tradeview Capital fund manager Neoh Jia Man.
The tool
- Can a Bangkok stall borrow on its app sales alone? Thailand now lends about US$600, no collateral — The Nation
  Thai shops in the state co-pay scheme, which adds US$30 a month to shoppers' spending, can now apply for collateral-free Government Savings Bank loans using their Tung Ngern app sales records. Loans average US$600, backed by state guarantees for 100,000-plus businesses.
  Positive-sum angle: A sales record replaces the land title a street vendor never had, and the Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation, the state agency that covers part of a bank's loss, carries some of the risk. Vendors leave informal lenders, and banks gain borrowers they can score.
  What's the impact: A Thai vendor taking co-pay payments should register by end-November and apply for a Nano Plus loan, the guaranteed micro-credit line. Malaysia's DuitNow QR and Indonesia's QRIS, the national QR payment codes, hold the same sales trail; no lender there underwrites on it yet.

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