KUALA LUMPUR: PT Resources Holding Bhd has sealed an underwriting agreement with Mercury Securities Sdn Bhd in conjunction with its upcoming initial public offering (IPO) on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia.
Mercury Securities is the principal adviser, sponsor, underwriter and placement agent for PT Resources' listing, which entails a public issue of 135 million new shares.
PT Resources said Mercury Securities would underwrite a total of 40.13 million new shares, comprising 26.75 million shares made available to the Malaysian public via balloting and 13.38 million shares for eligible directors, employees and persons who had contributed to the success of PT Resources and its subsidiaries.
Managing director Heng Chang Hooi said the high and resilient demand for seafood had put the company in a strong position to pursue sustainable growth both locally and internationally.
"According to the Independent Market Research Report, the average seafood consumption in Asia Pacific was the highest in the world at 33.9 kg per capita.
"While the per capita seafood consumption in the Middle East is relatively lower than the global average of 19.2 kg per capita, the Middle East imports relatively higher volumes of frozen seafood than other countries within the region.
"We thus recognise that these markets will continue to present opportunities for us to tap into and we intend to continue growing our exports to these markets," said Heng.
PT Resources plans to launch the prospectus for its IPO in the third quarter this year.
It will be the first frozen seafood processor, wholesaler and retailer to be listed on the ACE Market.
The company and its subsidiaries are principally involved in the processing and trading of frozen seafood products as well as retail trading of chilled and frozen meat, and non-meat products.
Its frozen seafood products are sold to both local and international markets, particularly countries in the Asia Pacific and the Middle East.
PT Resources will use its IPO proceeds to finance its capital expenditure for a new cold storage warehouse as well as working capital for the purchase of raw materials, which mainly comprise fresh and frozen seafood and meat products.
"We are excited to enter the next phase of our business growth and the signing of the underwriting agreement brings us one step closer to our goal of an IPO to facilitate the group's expansion by financing the specific strategies and opportunities that we have identified such as growing our presence in the international markets and widening our local retail network through a licensing business model," said Heng.