(Bloomberg) -- Malaysian convenience-store chain 99 Speed Mart Retail Holdings Bhd has launched its 2.36 billion ringgit ($532 million) listing, in what would be the country’s biggest debut in seven years.
The deal is set to further boost Malaysia’s initial public offering market, where listings so far this year have raised more money than they did in all of 2023. The debut is offering up to 1.43 billion shares at 1.65 ringgit apiece, according to its prospectus dated Thursday.
99 Speed Mart said it will list its shares Sept. 9 and plans to use proceeds to expand its outlets and pay debt. Lee Thiam Wah, the company’s founder and chief executive, and his wife and company director Ng Lee Tieng will sell up to 72% of shares on offer, while the company will be raising up to 660 million ringgit in new shares.
Founded in 1987 as a single sundry store in the state of Selangor, 99 Speed Mart has more than 2,600 outlets, according to its prospectus. It posted a profit after tax of 133.2 million ringgit on revenue of 2.4 billion ringgit for the first three months of 2024.
The company also operates an online platform offering bulk purchases for retail and enterprise customers, and has incorporated trading companies in China for product procurement. It briefly entered the Singapore market in 2019 but exited within a year due to the pandemic.
New share sales in Malaysia have raised $740 million so far this year, eclipsing the $663 million raised in all of 2023, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. 99 Speed Mart’s listing would be the biggest since petrochemical producer Lotte Chemical Titan Holding Bhd’s $849 million offering in 2017.
This year’s IPOs have included palm-oil producer Johor Plantations Group Bhd, which at $156 million was the largest debut in the country since 2022, and Alpha IVF Group Bhd’s $98 million listing. Others on tap include South Korea-based OCI Holdings Co., which is considering listing its Malaysian polysilicon unit on the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange to raise as much as $320 million, Bloomberg News has reported.
The Southeast Asian nation’s market regulator along with the stock-exchange operator, Bursa Malaysia Bhd, earlier this year said they’d committed to a three-month approval period for IPO applications received from March 1. The process previously typically took as long as six months to complete.
Malaysia has rekindled favor with global investors after years of lackluster growth and policy confusion due to a rapid turnover in leadership. The country’s artificial-intelligence push has also made it a key bet on AI-related services in the region.
CIMB Investment Bank Bhd, Affin Hwang Investment Bank Bhd and RHB Investment Bank Bhd are underwriters in the offering.
--With assistance from Ram Anand.
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