Union Petrochemical yesterday appointed nine securities firms to serve as underwriters for its initial public offering (IPO), with BFIT Securities as the lead.
The company, using the stock symbol UKEM, will list on the Market for Alternative Investment on November 27.
Union Petrochemical deputy managing director Perajed Suwannapasri said the company would offer 34 million shares for its IPO with a par value of Bt1 apiece. The IPO price is set at Bt2.52 per share.
Bangkok Advisory is Union Petrochemical's financial adviser. The IPO will be held next Monday to Wednesday. Perajed said the money raised would be used for debt refinancing and cash flow to expand its product line, the better to serve its customers. The company also plans to expand its customer base.
"BFIT is confident [Union Petrochemical] will prove attractive for investors, as it's one of the leading chemical-product manufacturers. The company is implementing an aggressive strategy of increasing product variety to boost its customer base, and it has subsidiaries to support its business activities," said BFIT deputy executive chairman Prasit Srisuvarn.
Perajed said all industries that used solvents, especially the paint and plastic-ware industries, continued to have a high growth potential and that Union Petrochemical's business had grown in line with them. He said it was good timing for the company to list now.
Currently, Union Petrochemical is a sales agent for three other companies: Thai MC, Exxon Mobile Chemicals (Thailand) and a Mitsubishi subsidiary. The company also has a trade alliance with IRCP, the former Thai Petrochemical Industry.
In 2003, the company saw sales of Bt1.09 billion, while sales in the first nine months of this year amounted to Bt1.4 billion. The company expects Bt1.8 billion in revenues this year, up from last year's Bt1.5 billion.
Source: The Nation by Siriporn Chanjindamanee Friday, November 10, 2006