At the listing of MYMBN: MYMBN non-independent non-executive chairman Liw Chong Liong (fifth from left) and non-independent executive director and CEO Lavernt Chen Vun Wo (sixth from left) with other members of the company's board of directors and management, Mercury Securities managing director Chew Sing Guan (second from right) and co-head of corporate finance Eric Chong Soo Keng (far right).
KUALA LUMPUR: Birds nests processor Mymbn Bhd
(MYMBN) is gearing up for a bright future ahead as it plans to expand its products into the China market, as well as acquire a company in China this year.
Its chief executive officer Lavernt Chen said the company will target a revenue growth of 10% to 12% next year, which will grow in line with its profit.
“The company has a lot of exciting plans ahead, including the acquisition of a company in Guangxi, China, which will allow us to fast track our expansion plans for bird nests products,” he said to reporters after the company’s listing on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia yesterday.
According to Chen, China is its biggest export market and Malaysia is currently the only country that can export raw unclean edible bird’s nests (RUCEBN).
Exporting into China was always allowed but bird nests products required a General Administration of Chinese Customs of the People’s Republic of China licence, which MYMBN has.
When asked the reason why MYMBN chose China as its target market instead of Western markets, Chen said that consuming bird nests products has always been popular in China.
“We’ve seen that the Western markets do not have a great understanding of bird nests and its benefits, unlike the Chinese. It has been a trend to consume bird nests and people are always looking to invest into their health,” he said.
Chen also said he doesn’t expect the United States-China tensions or China’s slowing economy to affect the business in any manner.
“Some people may not want to consume bird nests at all because of various reasons, but there will always be people who want to try or keep consuming them.
“We have not heard of any new bird nests manufacturers so far,” he said.
Currently, there are only four countries that export bird nest products including Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.
MYMBN is the first bird nest processor to be listed on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia.
It debuted yesterday at 28 sen, a premium of 33.3% over its initial public offering (IPO) price of 21 sen.
The counter closed six sen up to 27 sen with 103.35 million shares traded hands. It was also the fourth most actively traded stock of the day.
The company’s IPO saw a positive start as 19.3 million new shares were made available for application and was oversubscribed by 30.77 times.
Chen said the company is also in the process of acquiring eight additional units to increase its bird nests production in Sabah and Sarawak, which will be ready by year-end.
The company’s current RUCEBN are sourced from 18 approved suppliers that have 224 swiftlet farms.
“At the moment, 96% of supply comes from Peninsular Malaysia. Moving forward, we will be expanding to Sabah and Sarawak where we foresee growth, that is why we are positioning ourselves there,”he said.
Chen said the quality of the bird nest products will depend on the farmers, while the prices will depend on the quality of products the company receives.
Still commenting on expansion plans, Chen said MYMBN will venture into manufacturing a bird nest drink that is halal for the local market.
“We are looking at this drink which will be labelled under the company to be completed this year.
“It makes sense for us to tap into the halal market as part of our expansion plans,” Chen said.
He added the company will look forward to moving into greater heights, especially now that they are listed.
