IWH plans Malaysia’s biggest IPO since 2012
KUALA LUMPUR: Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Sdn Bhd (IWH) has hired banks to help prepare for an initial public offering (IPO) here to raise about RM5 billion, in what would be the biggest firsttime share sale in the Southeast Asian nation since 2012.
The property firm is working with Bank of China Ltd, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, Citic CLSA and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd on the planned IPO, executive vice-chairman Tan Sri Lim Kang Hoo said in an interview on Tuesday.
The developer plans to submit an application to the Malaysian regulator in two months, he said, adding that the potential share sale values IWH at more than RM20 billion.
The company had originally aimed to list on the domestic bourse this year but the plan has been pushed back to the second half of next year because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Lim said.
IWH may consider a second listing in mainland China or Hong Kong after it goes public here, he said.
It would also give a boost to the Malaysian market, which has seen the lowest sum raised through first-time share sales in the year to date since 2000.
IWH is the parent of listed real estate developer Iskandar Waterfront City Bhd.
The company also holds a stake in a joint venture working on the RM140 billion Bandar Malaysia development project here, which is set to be the hub for a proposed high-speed rail line that would connect Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
Malaysia had sold a 60 per cent stake of the project to IWH-CREC Sdn Bhd, the joint venture between IWH and China Railway Engineering Corp (M) Sdn Bhd.
IWH-CREC paid a RM1.24 billion deposit to the government on Tuesday, which includes a RM500 million advance, thus completing its 10 per cent settlement for its stake in the property and transport hub, Lim said.
It has until February 2022 to pay the remaining 90 per cent, he said.
Ekovest Bhd, a construction and engineering company controlled by Lim and his family, is in exclusive negotiations to purchase 40 per cent of IWH’s stake in the joint venture, according to an exchange filing on Sept 8.