LHN IPO decent; pity there's no public portion

RETAIL investors looking for value in promising local, home-grown companies might be disappointed that the Singapore market's first initial public offer (IPO) of 2015, that of real estate manager LHN Group, has no public portion.

Disappointment would be because LHN bears all the hallmarks of a decent IPO that should prove rewarding to shareholders - it is fairly priced, the company is profitable, there is scope for upside and the money is largely to be used for business expansion.

Setting aside for now discussion of whether IPOs should have a compulsory public portion so that they are truly "public" instead of private exercises, LHN's offer follows the example of many preceding Catalist listings in that it is wholly via private placement, in this case 73.9 million new shares at S$0.23 each to raise gross proceeds of S$17 million.