Hot stock: Pacific Star Development dips on Catalist debut

PACIFIC Star Development, which just transferred to Singapore Exchange's (SGX) Catalist board and started trading on Thursday, tanked on debut.

After opening at 33 Singapore cents, it fell to 31 Singapore cents as at 10.40am, with a volume of 513,400.

The property developer's transfer to Catalist follows the completion of a reverse takeover (RTO) by LH Group, which effectively serves as a backdoor listing for Pacific Star Development.

Since branching out from a real estate investment manager into development, Pacific Star Development's projects on hand include Puteri Cove Residences and Quayside in Iskandar Malaysia, and The Posh Twelve in Bangkok that target young and affluent middle-class home buyers.

Group CEO and managing director Glen Chan said: "We aim to expand upon our brand equity in the (Asean) region and validate the enthusiastic support we have received from the investment community."

The listing of Pacific Star Development, which has a market capitalisation of about S$127 million, brings the total number of real estate companies listed on SGX to 54 with a combined market capitalisation of about S$90 billion, SGX said.

The total number of companies listed on Catalist now stands at 188 with a combined market cap of S$10 billion.

With the completion of the RTO, Pacific Star Development reconstituted the board, now helmed by Leon Yee Kee Shian. Mr Yee is a managing director at Duane Morris & Selvam LLP, a joint law venture between US-based international law firm Duane Morris LLP and Singapore law firm Selvam LLC.