Monde Nissin ends first trading day flat, sets sights on US markets

Manila

PHILIPPINE food maker Monde Nissin is pinning its future on the fast-growing alternative meats business on the back of a 48.6 billion pesos (S$1.3 billion) initial public offering (IPO) - the country's largest listing.

On its market debut on Tuesday, the family-controlled company's shares ended trading at 13.48 pesos versus the 13.50 pesos IPO price. The issue was South-east Asia's second-largest this year after the US$1.8 billion IPO of Thailand's Oil and Retail Business. The forty-year-old group's market leading position in the Philippines, with its ubiquitous Lucky Me! instant noodles and SkyFlakes biscuits, has propelled the family behind the conglomerate to the ranks of the country's richest.

The owner of Britain's meat alternative Quorn, which it acquired for about US$830 million in 2015, is ramping up capacity and targeting a big jump in sales in US markets.

"We still have a lot of possibilities to raise even more (capital) in the next few years," said chief executive Henry Soesanto. The global meat substitutes market has surged in recent years on consumer concerns about health, sustainability and animal welfare. Quorn made up 22 per cent of Monde Nissin's net sales of US$1.4 billion last year. Monde Nissin's chief strategy officer David Nicol added that Quorn was developing local flavours for US markets.

The oversubscribed IPO was supported by 11 cornerstone investors including Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, GIC. The company's shares were the most actively traded on Tuesday and rose as high as 13.56 pesos. It ended the day with a market value of US$5 billion. REUTERS