Acromec makes respectable start on Catalist board

Home-grown engineering firm Acromec made a respectable debut on its first day of trading on the Catalist board of the Singapore Exchange yesterday.

The stock opened at 25 cents, up 14 per cent on its initial public offering (IPO) price of 22 cents, and touched a high of 29 cents before closing at 26 cents.

Around 20 million shares changed hands, making it the eighth-most-traded stock.

The company, which designs and builds high-technology research laboratories and healthcare and clean-room facilities, issued 27 million new shares, comprising 1.5 million public offer shares, 22.5 million placement shares and three million reserved shares. Overall, the shares were about five times subscribed.

The company will use the $4.5 million raised for working capital and expansion.

The IPO lifted its market capitalisation to around $26.5 million.

Managing director Lim Say Chin said: "We are deeply encouraged by the strong investor support we have received for our IPO. With our new listing status, we are well positioned to further strengthen and grow our business in Singapore and the region."

Acromec's listing brings the total number of companies on the Catalist to 178. It was the fifth IPO here this year, with all of them listing on the Catalist board.

Remisier Desmond Leong said Acromec had done well for its first day compared with other newcomers on the Catalist this year.

The other IPOs launched this year include Anchor Resources and Secura, both of which plunged on their debut trading days.

Anchor Resources launched at 25 cents but closed at 9.5 cents yesterday, while Secura, which also listed at 25 cents, ended at 18.5 cents.

Mr Leong said of Acromec: "It's probably one of the best debuts on the SGX this year, if not the best. Usually, there's a lot of selling on the first day, which happened for Acromec as well, but its closing price held up well.

"I'm not sure if all the selling has been done, we will have to wait until the end of the week, but if it holds at this price, it shows that there is some real demand and it's quite promising."

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on April 19, 2016, with the headline Acromec makes respectable start on Catalist board. Subscribe