On June 20, Info-Tech Systems, which provides software used for human resource management, lodged its draft prospectus. Book building for the placement tranche has been going on for weeks. Based on data circulated by the stock broking community, the issue aims to raise around $60 million, including an overallotment portion.
Assuming this IPO goes ahead, it will be the first Mainboard listing since December 2023, following the de-spac listing of 17Live Group, the one and only of its kind. There have been several secondary and REIT listings in the meantime, as well as the listing of Yangzijiang Financial Holding, which was listed by way of introduction in April 2022. However, the last Mainboard IPO that raised funds here was that of Aztech Globalin March 2021, which attracted around $314 million in gross proceeds.
What makes the IPO of Info-Tech Systems interesting is its roster of cornerstone investors. They include Avanda Investment Management, managed by Ng Kok Song, the former GIC top honcho who contested unsuccessfully against President Tharman Shanmugaratnam. Other notable institutional names include Dymon Asia Multi-Strategy, Lion Global Investors, Maybank Asset Management and Nikko Asset Management.
Ginko-AGT Global Growth Fund, managed by Greg See, is another noteworthy cornerstone investor. AGT Partners is known for being an early investor in Oiltek International, one of last year’s best-performing stocks. See tells The Edge Singapore that he likes the strong customer retention rate of over 90% achieved by Info-Tech Systems, even as it increases its average selling price. “The asset-light business model with low capital expenditure requirements and upfront cash collection generates healthy recurring free cash flow. With an attractive price-to-free-cash-flow multiple of around 12 times, we think the IPO offers a compelling opportunity for long-term, patient shareholders,” says See, who is subscribing to the IPO of Lum Chang Creations too.
See also: Dezign Format closes at 28 cents on debut trading day
The other cornerstones are linked to notable individuals: Qilin Wealth Fund is owned by Lim Chap Huat of listed construction firm Soilbuild Group; Splendid Asia Macro Fund, run by former Credit Suisse trader Charlie Chan and an active investor, and Asdew Acquisitions, managed by Alan Wang Yu Huei, a former director of Kim Eng Holdings, which is today part of Maybank Securities. The book building is done at a price range of 82 cents to 87 cents, which will give the company a post-listing market cap comfortably above $200 million.
Lum Chang Creations is another issue poised to launch soon. This is the interior decoration unit under parent company Lum Chang Holdings, better known as one of the more established construction firms here. Lum Chang Creations positions itself in the niche market of conservation and restoration, with a track record of projects such as the restoration of St James Power Station, now used by Dyson as its regional base. According to Converging Knowledge, a firm commissioned by Lum Chang Creations to do a market study to support this IPO, the so-called urban revitalisation specialist industry in 2024 is valued at between $380 million and $450 million, with the Lum Chang Creation’s market share pegged at 14.4% to 17.0%.
Spin-offs in vogue
Interestingly, spin-off listings seem to be the flavour of the moment. Besides Lum Chang Creations, at least four other potential new listings are from the same category. The most talked about is the REIT to be spun off from dormitory operator Centurion Corp. Along with a strong outlook for the construction sector, which translates into higher demand for dorms for workers, news of this Centurion REIT has sent the stock up some 75% year to date, as analysts take turns to upgrade their target prices in anticipation of the move.
See also: Dezign Format raises $6.5 mil; trading of shares to commence on Aug 15
Similarly, Boustead Singapore, which has multiple businesses in engineering, real estate investments and even a rather unique one in the form of geospatial offerings, has announced it is mulling a move to inject some of its industrial real estate assets into a REIT. Boustead Singapore has gained around a third in the past month on the back of better FY2025 ended March earnings, plus this potentially value-unlocking move.
Yangzijiang Financial Holding, itself spun off from Yangzijiang Shipbuilding three years ago, is using the same playbook. Executive chairman Ren Yuanlin, who led the shipbuilder for decades before taking charge of Yangzijiang Financial, is planning a separate listing of the maritime-related assets. After languishing for the first couple of years, Yangzijiang Financial’s share price has gained around 75% year to date, similar to Centurion Corp.
LHN, which describes itself as in the business of “space optimisation”, has over the years transformed from a timber distribution business into one whose core business is providing co-living spaces, notably under its Coliwoo brand. It is planning a spin-off listing of the co-living business, which DBS Group Research estimates will be valued at $246 million by end of FY2026.
“Our fair value for LHN, based on FY2025 estimates, is 81 cents based on a 13 times P/E on Coliwoo’s FY2025 earnings and a 10 times P/E on its existing business. The proposed spin-off will give Coliwoo the gunpowder to stretch its asset-light model further and continue growth in Singapore through its unique model of asset repurposing and master leases,” state analysts Geraldine Wong and Derek Tan in their unrated report of June 25. Unsurprisingly, LHN’s share price has also done well, having risen by more than a quarter year to date. Market watchers might recall LHN spun off its logistics business in a separate listing in April 2022 at 20 cents each before it was sold to a China-based company for 22.66 cents in August 2023 and delisted. NTT of Japan is also said to be listing a data centre REIT here.
Malaysia listings The pipeline of potential listings on the Singapore Exchange(SGX) includes companies from the region, reflecting the long-flogged party line that Singapore remains the capital market for Southeast Asia. On June 20, The Edge Malaysia reported that Daruma Capital, which operates the Chizu Café chain, has announced plans to list in Singapore. Daruma Capital now runs seven cafes in the Klang Valley under the name “Meet Me at Chizu”. It is known for its Japanese-inspired artisanal beverages with milky cheese foam and buttery croissants.
Daruma Capital founder and managing director Ong Leong Fuei is seemingly unfazed by the muted listing environment in Singapore, preferring to focus on how SGX is an ideal platform to tap regional and global capital and help fund the company’s growth across the region. “The timing is particularly favourable,” Ong told The Edge Malaysia. “Consumer spending across the region remains robust, and international investors are increasingly drawn to high-quality regional F&B brands with proven scalability.”
In March, another Malaysia-based company announced Singapore listing plans. According to The Edge Malaysia, The Star, The Sun and other Malaysian papers, Yakin Medic plans to raise RM100 million ($30.26) from an IPO on SGX’s Catalist board. The IPO, targeted for 4Q2025 or early 2026, is part of its broader growth bid.
Yakin Medic is described as a provider of active live stem cell therapies. It has attracted investment firm MCI Capital to be a cornerstone investor and Singapore-based Evolve Capital will be the sponsor and IPO manager.
Apart from the initiatives by the top-level market committee to revive the local bourse, this new wave of IPOs is part of a broader trend already happening in key exchanges elsewhere.
Stakeholders must remember that the potential listings here, at least those that investors are familiar with, are but a fraction of the notable listings elsewhere. Nonetheless, the momentum for new listings on the SGX looks to have gone into a higher gear, with Vin’s Holdings’ lonely days looking to be over soon.
