KUALA LUMPUR: Shares in EPB Group Bhd climbed 16.07% as it opened for trading on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia, following an initial public offering (IPO) that raised RM40.08mil.
At 9.52am, the one-stop food processing and packaging machinery solutions provider was traded at 61 sen apiece, up five sen from its IPO price of 56 sen and off its intramorning high of 68 sen.
The counter was the most highly traded on the local bourse with a sum of 59 million shares changing hands.
Managing director Yeoh Chee Min said that of the IPO proceeds, RM24.6mil would be utilised for factory expansion, which includes the acquisition of land from Penang Development Corporation, construction of a new factory and the purchase of machinery.
"Our current facility is operating over capacity and we missed a lot of opportunities as we do not have enough space to showcase our products. We are very constrained in terms of space, and thus, we need this,” he told a press conference in conjunction with the prospectus launch.
Yeoh explained that the new facility will be 70,000 square feet in size, allowing the company more space for future expansion as the land area is 2.83 hectares.
The company also planned to ride on the Industrial Revolution 4.0 wave and increase the integration of robotic technology with its food processing and packaging machinery solution.
He said EPB Group has identified an opportunity in the industry for the use of more robotic technology, given the stringent hygiene requirements for the handling of food and pressing challenges faced by food manufacturers in hiring factory workers.
