Malaysian rubber processor Seng Fong Holdings Berhad, which is also trading Standard Malaysia Rubber (SMR) and premium grade block rubber, says that it has entered into an underwriting agreement with Hong Leong Investment Bank Berhad (HLIB) for its upcoming initial public offering (IPO) on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad. According to Seng Fong’s draft prospectus posted on the Securities Commission Malaysia website, the listing exercise involves the IPO of up to 160.87 million ordinary shares or up to 31% of the company’s enlarged number of issued shares comprising a public issue of 90.81 million shares and an offer for sale of up to 70.06 million shares.
Under the agreement, HLIB will underwrite 42.2 million IPO shares made available for application under the retail offering. HLIB is also the Placement Agent for 118.68 million IPO shares allocated to bumiputera investors approved by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) as well as other institutional and selected investors.
Managing Director of Seng Fong, Er Hock Lai said, “We look forward to working with HLIB on our IPO, which we see as crucial for our future growth as the funds raised through the listing exercise will be used for expansion plans. Our plans include the installation of two solar system units to generate electricity in line with the company’s ESG initiatives to reduce carbon footprint and have more sustainable business operations which will result in savings of approximately RM2.6 million per annum to our group’s cost of sales.”
“We will also be installing a biomass system to reduce diesel consumption used to generate fuel for our dryer system. This initiative will also help achieve savings of RM3.5 million per year and further our ESG initiatives by making the business more sustainable over the longer term. In addition, we are also planning to increase the total capacity of our factories to approximately 166,000 tonnes/year by year 2023 from current total capacity of 142,000 tonnes/year.”
Group Managing Director/CEO of HLIB, Lee Jim Leng said, “We are pleased to have played a key role in assisting Seng Fong in this IPO exercise. The company has a solid reputation and a history dating back to 1986. Rubber is a key material in many industries and in particular, the automobile industry where there is steady demand.”
“We have no doubt that Seng Fong will continue to excel and to build upon the foundations set down almost four decades ago. The listing is an effective platform for the company to move into the next stage of growth”.
Almost all of Seng Fong’s revenue is derived from sales to international customers for FYE2019 to FYE2021.