i-Stone soars 56% on trading debut

An analyst told Bernama that the macro factors expected to affect the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI next week, includes the Group of Seven(G7) meeting as investors search for clues on the trade outlook, as well as the timing of the next interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve (Fed) which meets on June 12.

KUALA LUMPUR: i-Stone Group Bhd, making its debut on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia today, surged nine sen or 56.25% to 25 sen in morning trade.

Shares of the manufacturing automation provider were the most actively traded on the stock exchange with 406.49 million units exchanging hands.

The retail tranche of the offering was 61.07 million shares at a price of 16 sen per share, which was 11.56 times oversubscribed.

Of the total proceeds of RM39.09mil raised from the listing, RM6.8mil will be for the construction of a new design and development centre and RM4.2mil will be utilised for process and product development.

"The Company plans to design, develop and manufacture standard modules which can be used for its range of specialised automation machines to reduce manufacturing lead time. 

"We also intend to develop new products and introduce new features into our machines to meet our customers' increasing demands for higher productivity and efficiency of their manufacturing operations," said i-Stone managing director Rebecca Tee in a statement.

The remainder of the proceeds will go towards repaying borrowings, capital expenditure and working capital.

According to the group, the manufacturing sales value of specialised machinery and equipment market in Malaysia increased from RM1bil in 2015 to RM1.97bil in 2017 at a compound annual growth rate of 40.36%.

The drivers of growth in the market include rising demand for automation in the electrical and electronics industry, continuous technological advancements and government initiatives in support of automation, it said.