Thailand, Philippine f irms lead revival in Southeast Asia IPOs
International fund managers continue to be attracted by the growth in consumption across the region
Thailand and Philippine companies are leading a regional pick-up in initial public offerings (IPOs), spurred by growing investor interest in firms focussed on Southeast Asian consumers.
Asset World Corp, the hospitality and property firm listed by Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, and Philippine home furnishing retailer AllHome Corp. raised $1.6 billion and $285 million, respectively.
Asset World made its market debut on Thursday, with shares trading 0.83 percent higher than its IPO price at 6.05 baht ($0.20) each. The company plans to use proceeds to double hotel rooms and retail space.
In the Philippines, AllHome became the third company to tap the local market in 2019, compared with just one IPO in 2018, and its shares debuted 1.04 percent higher at 11.62 pesos ($0.2249) on Thursday.
The home furnishing retailer, owned by the Philippines’ richest man, Manuel Villar, raised 12.937 billion pesos. An option to sell 168.75 million over-allotment shares could beef up the IPO to $285 million.
“The home improvement industry in the Philippines is under penetrated so we thought of introducing a retail concept with global standards which eventually complements our expertise as the largest homebuilder in the country,” Villar, AllHome’s chairman, said in a statement. AllHome operates 27 stores and plans to at least double its selling space by end-2020.
Asset World Corporation was the largest IPO by a Thai firm, while AllHome was the Philippines’ biggest in three years.
Singapore still leads on overall first time share sales in Southeast Asia in 2019, but it has achieved this mainly through offerings of real estate and business trusts. In Thailand, 11 companies raised a total of $1.9 billion from January to Oct. 4, compared with five firms raising less than $100 million in the same period a year ago, Refinitiv data showed. The data excludes real estate and business trusts. “We expect Thailand to be one of the stronger IPO markets in 2020. Some more large IPOs have started preparations this year and are set