SINGAPORE/BANGKOK – Thailand and Philippine companies are leading a regional pick-up in initial public offerings (IPOs), spurred by growing investor interest in firms focused on Southeast Asian consumers.
Asset World Corp., the hospitality and property firm listed by Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, and Philippine home furnishing retailer AllHome Corp. raised 1.6 billion United States dollars (USD) and USD285 million, respectively.
Asset World made its market debut on Thursday, with shares trading 0.83 percent higher than its IPO price at 6.05 Thai baht each.
The company plans to use proceeds to double hotel rooms and retail space.
In the Philippines, AllHome became the third company to tap the local market in 2019, compared with just one IPO in 2018, and its shares debuted 1.04 percent higher at 11.62 pesos (USD0.2249) on Thursday.
The home furnishing retailer, owned by the Philippines’ richest man, Manuel Villar, raised 12.937 billion pesos (USD250.4 million). An option to sell 168.75 million over-allotment shares could beef up the IPO to USD285 million.
“The home improvement industry in the Philippines is under penetrated so we thought of introducing a retail concept with global standards which eventually complements our expertise as the largest homebuilder in the country,” Villar, AllHome’s chairman, said in a statement.
AllHome operates 27 stores and plans to at least double its selling space by the end of 2020.
Asset World Corporation was the largest IPO by a Thai firm, while AllHome was the Philippines’ biggest in three years.
Singapore still leads on overall first time share sales in Southeast Asia in 2019, it has achieved this mainly through offerings of real estate and business trusts. (Reuters)
