SINGAPORE - Food court operator Koufu on Wednesday (July 18) made its debut on the Singapore Exchange's (SGX) mainboard at 65 cents, 2 cents or 3.2 per cent up on its initial public offering price of 63 cents, with about 19 million shares traded.

The wider Straits Times Index also opened higher on Wednesday, up 0.4 per cent at 3,251.28.

At 1.44pm, Koufu shares were trading one cent or 1.6 per cent up at 64 cents, with about 25.5 million shares changing hands.

With a market capitalisation of about $350 million, Koufu Group Limited's listing will boost SGX's consumer cluster to a total of 152 listings with combined market capitalisation of more than $135 billion.

Pang Lim, Koufu's executive chairman and chief executive officer, said its listing was "a vote of confidence for our group and a recognition of our established track record and growth plans".

Simon Lim, SGX's head of equity capital market (sectors), said the company was "one of Singapore's most recognisable chain of food courts and coffee shops. We are excited to be the group's choice listing platform as it seeks to strengthen its presence in Singapore and overseas, drive productivity through innovation and automation, as well as expand into the online food ordering and delivery space."

At the close of Koufu's public offer at 12 noon on July 16, 3,170 valid applications were received for 107.7 million shares. Application monies received amounted to about S$67.8 million, translating to the public offer being 17 times subscribed.

Koufu was founded by executive chairman and CEO Pang Lim in 2002. His wife and executive director, Ng Hoon Tien, is a co-founder.