F J Benjamin receives in-principle approval from SGX for transfer to Catalist board

MAINBOARD-LISTED retailer FJ Benjamin Holdings announced in a regulatory update on Sunday that it has obtained an in-principle approval from the Singapore Exchange (SGX) to transfer to the Catalist board.

This is subject to certain conditions, including obtaining shareholders' approval.

In an earlier announcement in October last year, FJ Benjamin said that listing on the Catalist will put it in a better position to attract investors in the future.

It added that the Catalist board provides a more conducive listing platform for companies which require a flexible regulatory system to float their shares.

As the company was on the financial watch list, raising funds through private placements has been difficult, it said in the earlier bourse filing.

The group has been on SGX's watch list since December 2016 for sustaining pre-tax losses for more than three consecutive financial years, and having a market cap of less than S$40 million.

FJ Benjamin said that being able to exit the financial watch list and keeping its listing status on the Catalist board could potentially make way for opportunities to explore mergers and acquisitions to enlarge its current business base and increase profitability.

Shares of FJ Benjamin ended last Friday at 1.6 Singapore cents, down 0.1 cent or 5.9 per cent.