KUALA LUMPUR: Water-based industrial adhesives and sealants manufacturer GB Bond Holdings Bhd expects its new factory in Penang to increase production capacity for its adhesive line by 30% to 35%.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd senior vice-president of corporate finance, Darren Koh Chong Wooi, said the company’s adhesive production facilities are currently operating at slightly above 70% capacity.
“With our expansion into Vietnam, we expect new business opportunities from the market to grow gradually.
“We expect demand to strengthen over the next two to three years, which should lead to higher utilisation of the expanded capacity,” he told a press conference after the company’s listing ceremony here yesterday.
GB Bond made its debut on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia at 25.5 sen, a premium of 0.5 sen from its initial public offering or IPO price of 25 sen, with 19.74 million shares traded.
At 5pm, the stock closed 4.5 sen down to 20.5 sen, with 71.33 million shares changing hands. In a statement, the company said it had successfully raised RM16.08mil from its public issue.
Of the proceeds, RM5.50mil will be allocated to rent a new factory measuring approximately 40,000 sq ft near its Bukit Panchor headquarters in Penang, alongside the purchase of new production machinery.
“Alongside the factory expansion, RM0.90mil is earmarked for product formulation equipment,” it said. — Bernama
