[BANGKOK] Shares in Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi's property unit were little changed in their first day of trading after the company raised 48 billion baht (S$2.18 billion) in the country's biggest initial public offering in more than four years.

Asset World Corp, a developer of hotels, shopping malls and office buildings, traded at 6.05 baht as at 10.03am in Bangkok, compared with its IPO price of six baht. That gave the company a market value of 187 billion baht ($6.2 billion).

Asset World has raised funds from the share sale to expand its hotel and other commercial property projects. Mr Charoen, who also controls three publicly traded companies listed in Singapore - Fraser & Neave Ltd, Frasers Property Ltd and Thai Beverage Pcl - is Thailand's richest person with a net worth of US$16.6 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Asset World had total revenue of 5.84 billion baht in the first six months of 2019, down from 6.52 billion baht in the same period a year earlier, according to its filing. Net income in the first half rose to 366.7 million baht from 167 million baht a year earlier. The company had total assets of 92.4 billion baht as at June 30.

BLOOMBERG