Discount Store Founder Becomes Newest Malaysian Billionaire As Shares Surge On Market Debut
Shares of discount retailer Eco-Shop Marketing jumped on its first trading day on the Malaysian bourse, minting the company's founder and top shareholder Lee Kar Whatt as a billionaire with an estimated net worth of $1.3 billion.
The company raised 974 million ringgit ($229 million) by selling 347 million new shares to retail investors and 515 million existing shares to institutional investors at 1.13 ringgit each, a discount from the original price of 1.21 ringgit when the IPO was first announced in April.
While the company didn't say why it slashed the IPO price, the new pricing gave investors a little bit more upside, Thong Pak Leng, vice president of research at Rakuten Trade in Kuala Lumpur, said. Eco-Shop shares climbed as much as 10.6% to 1.25 ringgit during the early morning, before paring gains and trading at 1.21 ringgit in midafternoon.
Eco-Shop, which sells household items at a fixed price of 2.60 ringgit each, will use the proceeds from the new share sale to build distribution centers, expand the company's retail network, and repay debt.
Lee started Eco-Shop in 2003 with his brother Lee Tiong Bin and two partners. With 350 stores across Malaysia, The company's net profit jumped 70% to 177 million ringgit in 2024, while revenue climbed 26% to 2.4 billion ringgit.
'The outlook seems promising as the company plans to open 70 new stores per year on average, over the next five years,' Thong said. 'It will provide double-digit growth in the foreseeable future.'
Aside from growing his business, Lee is also involved in charity work. He serves as a director of the Malaysian Social Entrepreneurs Foundation and donated 1 million ringgit to the Turkish ambassador in Malaysia to help victims of the earthquakes that hit southern Turkey in 2023.
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