From left: Crest Group executive director Yap Kian Meng, chairman Ahmad Tajudin Omar, executive director and group managing director Lim Siong Wai, MIDF Amanah Investment Bank Bhd deputy CEO Datuk Seri Diraja Nur Julie Gwee Ariff, chairman Datuk Mohd Nasir Ali and Crest Group executive director Ethan Au.
KUALA LUMPUR: ACE Market-bound Crest Group Bhd will be utilising the bulk of its listing proceeds to set up its new centralised headquarters in Selangor.
Group managing director Lim Siong Wai said this is for the purpose of consolidating the group’s operations in the central region of Malaysia.
“Currently, our offices in Selangor are located at three rented premises, with two located in Puchong and one in Subang Jaya.
“In the long run, a centralised office will help to save costs. It will also be easier for our customers by having a centralised demonstration space,” he told a press conference following the company’s prospectus launch here yesterday.
The group is in the midst of identifying a suitable commercial or light industrial premises within the Klang Valley with a built-up area of about 1,858 sq m and it expects to purchase the facility within three years after its listing.
Crest specialises in providing imaging, analytical and testing solutions for quality inspection, sample analysis and research and development, serving various sectors like semiconductors, electrical and electronics, automotive, academic, oil and gas, aviation, life sciences and healthcare.
Most of the group’s customers are multinational corporations.
The company said that jobs from the semiconductor sector contribute close to 60% of its revenue.
Some of Crest’s customers include outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (Osat) and automatic test equipment (ATE) firms.
“When ATE players manufacture high-tech equipment, they need inspection or quality-assurance equipment to make sure that their end product is good. Hence, we supply those kinds of equipment for these companies to do the necessary tests.
“Osat companies are also our customers, as we provide our solutions to them in their assembly processes. Many Osat firms are also expanding into new facilities in Penang.
“We will be benefiting from this, especially those who are our existing customers, as we will have opportunities to offer more solutions to them when they build new manufacturing lines,” said vice-president of sales Kwong Wing Yew.
Additionally, Crest is expanding its presence into key markets with plans to open offices in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, as well as Chengdu and Shenzhen in China.
At present, the group operates offices in Malaysia, China, Thailand and Singapore.
However, this is not the company’s first entry into the Vietnam market.
“We have not opened an office in Vietnam yet but we already have customers and orders there, so it is natural for us to go there. At the same time, we have also sent two employees to Vietnam to learn the Vietnamese language.
“We will first go into semiconductors and electronics in Vietnam, before gradually expanding into other sectors,” Lim said.
The company will also be adding sales staff for the new offices in Vietnam and China, as well as in its existing Thailand office.
Crest is targeting a dividend payout ratio of at least 30% of its annual profit after tax attributable to the shareholders of the group.
The group expects to raise RM45.75mil from its initial public offering (IPO) and plans to use RM15.8mil (34.5%) for the setting up of a new centralised headquarters.
Some RM14.5mil (31.7%) will go towards business expansion, another RM5.9mil (12.8%) for the purchase of additional demonstration equipment and RM3.6mil (7.9%) has been set aside for the expansion of the technical support and maintenance team. The remaing RM6mil (13.1%) will be used to defray listing expenses.
Crest’s initial public offering (IPO) entails a public issue of 130.7 million new shares at an offer price of 35 sen per share.
Some 43.3 million shares will be made available to the Malaysian public while 12.98 million shares will be offered to eligible directors, employees and individuals who have made contributions to its success.
A total of 74.4 million shares will be set aside for bumiputra investors who have received approval from the International Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti) through private placements.
The existing shareholders of the company will also make an offer for sale of 103.9 million existing shares.
From this, 33.8 million existing shares will be earmarked for bumiputra investors who have received approval from Miti by way of private placements, while 70.1 million existing shares will be sold to selected investors via private placements.
With an enlarged share capital of 865.6 million shares, Crest will have a market capitalisation of RM302.96mil upon listing on Oct 9.
MIDF Amanah Investment Bank Bhd is the principal adviser, sponsor, underwriter and placement agent for the IPO.
