How a late booking jammed the brakes on Trans-Cab's IPO

Singapore

THE imminent listing of Trans-Cab was turning out to be the hottest stock offering in months on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) with a story of a home-grown, family business moving up to the big league as a public-listed corporation.

But an eleventh-hour notification by the firm's insurer, First Capital Insurance, which surprised Trans-Cab with an additional premium or burning cost of S$1.83 million led to the brakes being slammed on the taxi operator's S$100 million initial public offer (IPO). The item was not flagged in the prospectus, hence potentially rendering the all-important investor document inaccurate.

"The professional advice was like this, so what can I do?" Trans-Cab chairman and …