Multi Sports of China satisfied with debut on Bursa

By Chong Pooi KoonPublished: 2009/08/20

The shoe soles maker ended its first day on Bursa Malaysia with a 10 per cent discount to its 85 sen issue price

MULTI Sports Holdings Bhd, a shoe soles maker from China and the second direct foreign listing on Bursa Malaysia, ended its first day on the exchange with a 10 per cent discount yesterday.

The stock opened at 85.5 sen, slightly higher than its 85 sen issue price, but retreated to close at 76.5 sen in a weak market.

The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI fell 0.76 per cent to 1,155.53 in its third day of decline.

Almost all Asian markets fell yesterday, after strong gains in recent months.



In a media briefing in Kuala Lumpur yesterday to mark its stock market debut, Multi Sports executive chairman Lin Huozhi expressed satisfaction over the share performance.

"We hope the share price will continue rising in the future with the support from everyone," he said.

T.C. Kok, managing director of AmInvestment Bank Bhd, the adviser and underwriter for the initial public offering, said there is no greenshoe option being put in place to help stabilise the share price of Multi Sports.

"There is no price stabilisation mechanism being instituted, but the IPO's strong oversubscription showed investor's support. With Multi Sports' fundamental st-rength and its ongoing investors relation effort, we hope the company will continue to grow," Kok said.

A greenshoe option is a legal mechanism that allows underwriters to buy up to a certain number of company shares at the offering price, in a bid to minimise share price volatility in the immediate period after listing. In Malaysia, the mechanism can only be used for IPOs worth more than RM150 million.

Xingquan International Sports Holdings Ltd, the first direct foreign listing here which went public last month, has adopted the greenshoe option.

Kok said AmInvestment is in the process of bringing more Chinese IPOs here.

Lin said listing cost was not the main consideration when Multi Sports decided to float its shares in Malaysia. It was because Malaysia was much less affected by the financial crisis which has kept the world reeling until recently, he added.