Malaysia’s MTT Shipping shrugs off war disruptions ahead of April IPO
The country’s largest container shipping operator is seeking RM652 million from its listing
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[KUALA LUMPUR] MTT Shipping and Logistics Bhd is forging ahead with expansion plans and an April IPO, shrugging off disruptions from the Middle East war as cargo volumes hold steady.
“Our ships are still full,” Ooi Lean Hin, managing director of Malaysia’s largest container shipping operator, said in a Monday (Mar 30) interview.
The company is seeking RM652 million (S$208.5 million) from its IPO, offering 633.5 million shares at RM1.03 each for an implied market value of about RM2.58 billion. The deal comes amid a pickup in Malaysia’s listing activity, including Sunway Healthcare Holdings’ RM2.86 billion offering last month, the largest in nine years.
MTT Shipping, however, is not insulated from rising prices due to the conflict, Ooi said. While freight costs have increased between US$50 to US$100 per twenty-foot-equivalent unit in Asia, the hikes lag behind those of other regions, he added.
Rates in Asia “are quite good at the moment,” said Ooi, a former Evergreen Marine executive and chairman of the Shipping Association of Malaysia, adding that price mechanisms are in place to ensure bunker costs are passed on to customers.
MTT Shipping serves trade between Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia, where it has a 46 per cent market share, the company said. It also operates in countries such as Indonesia, India, Thailand, Brunei, Singapore and China.
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MTT Shipping has Malaysia’s largest and youngest fleet of 26 container ships – it owns 24 of the vessels – and uses Port Klang as its primary hub. The company currently moves 38,879 TEUs a month, Ooi said.
Ooi, who co-founded the company in 2010, said it plans to use money raised from the IPO to increase its fleet to 40 ships by 2029 to meet increasing trade between Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia, as well as supporting its South-east Asia and India expansion plans.
The company will stop taking retail orders on Apr 3 and expects to list Apr 21, according to its prospectus. BLOOMBERG
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