By Jazlin Zakri / theedgemalaysia.com
KUALA LUMPUR (July 17): iCents Group Holdings Bhd (KL:ICENTS) rose strongly on Thursday in its trading debut on the ACE Market after the cleanroom and facility services firm’s initial share sale raised RM34.2 million.
The stock opened at 29 sen, five sen or 21% higher than its initial public offering (IPO) price of 24 sen. It traded between a high of 35 sen and a low of 27.5 sen before closing at 34 sen on Thursday — up 41.7% for the day. Trading volume totalled more than 150 million shares.
At its closing price, the company had a market capitalisation of RM170 million.
iCents' gain is injecting hope into a market rocked by tariff turmoil that has largely pushed investors to the sidelines and raised risk aversion, contributing to multiple first-day flops by recent listings.
Ahead of the listing, iCents saw some portions of its IPO undersubscribed, and the shares had to be re-allocated to other categories of investors. The public portion of the IPO was oversubscribed by just a little over two times.
iCents is mainly involved in providing cleanroom services, including engineering, procurement, construction, and testing and commissioning of cleanrooms catering to semiconductor and electronics manufacturing, data centre, pharmaceutical, and life sciences sectors.
Beyond cleanroom services, the company also provides a range of facility services, including machinery and equipment hook-up, supply and installation of heavy-duty ceiling systems, construction works, and maintenance services for various facilities.
“The future of iCents is bright and we are confident in achieving new heights and great success,” said managing director Ong Mum Fei in his opening speech during the listing ceremony.
The company raised RM27 million from the IPO, which will go towards the purchase of new machinery and equipment, as well as for business expansion, which includes establishing a new facility in Negeri Sembilan and opening new offices in Indonesia, Singapore and Sarawak.
Some of the funds will be used for product development and for new offerings, along with marketing activities, working capital and listing-related expenses.
The IPO also grossed a total of RM7.2 million for Ong personally as well as husband-and-wife executive directors Foo Siang Leng and Tan Wei Ying, who put up part of their existing shares in iCents for sale.
Alliance Islamic Bank is the principal adviser, sponsor, sole underwriter, and placement agent for the IPO.