23/07/2025

Editorial T: 03-7784 6688 F: 03-7785 2625 E: sunbiz@thesundaily.com Advertising T: 03-7784 8888 E: advertise@thesundaily.com

SCAN ME

WEDNESDAY | JULY 23, 2025

Year-to-date new listings on Bursa reach 37 and counting

Express Powerr inks underwriting agreement with Mercury Securities

PETALING JAYA: Generator rental services provider, Express Powerr Solutions (M) Bhd signed an underwriting agreement with Mercury Securities Sdn Bhd for its upcoming initial public offering (IPO) on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia. Express Powerr managing director Lim Cheng Ten said the company is entering a new phase of growth, and this underwriting agreement marks a significant step towards its listing on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia. “This move will accelerate our expansion into new end-user markets, including the oil and gas industry, and broaden our geographical coverage,“ he said in a statement. Express Power provides generator rental services, which are utilised in critical emergencies such as power outages and planned main tenance, and serve as standby power for events and special occasions, providing a reliable power source when needed most. It also supplies ancillary items, including distribution boards, generator synchronisation panels, transformers, switchgears, load banks, and cables, to meet the varied requirements of its customers. The IPO exercise comprises a public issue of 180 million new ordinary shares, representing about 19.3% of the company’s enlarged issued share capital, and an offer for sale of 65.4 million existing shares, equivalent to 7% of the enlarged share capital. Of the 180 million new shares, 46.7 million will be offered to the Malaysian public via balloting, 18.7 million allocated to eligible directors, employees, and contributors to the group’s success, 63.2 million placed privately with selected investors, and 51.4 million placed with Bumiputera investors approved by the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (Miti). The 65.4 million existing shares under the offer for sale will also be allocated to Bumiputera investors approved by Miti. Under the underwriting agreement, Mercury Securities has agreed to underwrite a total of 65.4 million issue shares made available to the Malaysian public and “pink form” allocations. Express Powerr is scheduled to be listed on the ACE Market by the third quarter of 2025. Mercury Securities serves as the principal adviser, sponsor, sole underwriter and sole placement agent for the IPO exercise.

o IPO pipeline healthy, exchange set to achieve target of 60 by end-2025

Ű BY HAYATUN RAZAK sunbiz@thesundaily.com

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia is on track to achieve its target of 60 initial public offerings by the end of 2025, with 37 companies already listed this year despite ongoing global uncertainties, said CEO Datuk Fad’l Mohamed. He noted that the Malaysian stock exchange continues to serve as a robust platform for capital raising, with sustained interest from both prospective issuers and investors. He said to date, no companies have withdrawn their listing plans, and the IPO pipeline remains healthy. “As it stands today, we still see companies exploring IPO opportunities on Bursa Malaysia. With 37 listings to date, we are well positioned to meet our target of 60 IPOs by year-end,” he told reporters after the signing of a memorandum of collaboration (MoC) between Bursa Carbon Exchange (BCX) and UEM Lestra Bhd. Looking ahead, Fad’l said mid-cap companies are expected to continue leading the listing activity. He added that there are indications that several large IPOs may also materialise. Issuers will need to carefully consider pricing and sizing strategies to align with prevailing market conditions, ensuring that their offerings are well-structured for investor uptake, Fad’l said. Meanwhile, BCX, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bursa Malaysia, entered into a strategic collaboration with UEM Lestra, the energy transition arm of UEM Group Bhd. The partnership will pilot Malaysia’s first Bilateral Energy Supply Contract (BESC) auction under the government’s Corporate

From left: Fad’l, Bursa chairman Tan Sri Abdul Farid Alias, UEM Lestra director Firdaus Hisham and Harman Faiz at the MoC signing.

efficient price discovery and in supporting national efforts to reform the electricity market via market-driven mechanisms. UEM Lestra CEO Harman Faiz Habib Muhammad noted that the auction provides the company with an efficient platform to seek optimal offers for its BESC initiative. He said BCX meets the company’s core criteria for a price discovery platform – namely, its credibility, independence, and impartiality, particularly in avoiding competition within the same business space. UEM Lestra is currently developing several large-scale hybrid solar PV projects, including its flagship one-gigawatt facility in Segamat, Johor. Slated for commissioning in the first quarter of 2028, the project is expected to generate over one million megawatt-hours of clean electricity annually, offsetting nearly 800,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year.

Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (CRESS). This auction will enable buyers to submit competitive bids for green electricity generated from UEM Lestra’s large-scale hybrid solar photovoltaic (PV) projects, based on their individual electricity demand. Under the MoC, BCX will offer its Auction as-a-Service solution to facilitate an open and transparent bidding process for re newable energy, in line with the CRESS framework. The initiative is expected to enhance liquidity on BCX, particularly through the eventual clearing and settlement of renewable energy certificates once the solar projects reach commercial operation. Fad’l emphasised that the success of the pilot auction will depend on securing credible offtakers through a fair and competitive process. He highlighted BCX’s role in enabling

CPO prices to stay firm at RM4,100-4,300 over the next month: MPOC PETALING JAYA: Domestic crude palm oil prices are expected to remain firm and trade between RM4,100 and RM4,300 a tonne over the next month, supported by festive demand from India and elevated US soybean oil prices. and China by 117,000 tonnes. Kenya accounted for 30% of Malaysia’s total palm oil exports to Sub-Saharan Africa, with full year imports projected to reach 1.3 million tonnes from Malaysia. the first quarter of 2025. India’s monthly imports of Malaysian palm oil remained consistently above 250,000 tonnes in both May and June. This positive momentum is expected to extend into the third quarter, supported by restocking ahead of the Diwali festival in mid October and favourable prices. Additionally, under the revised US tax credit framework, only feedstocks sourced from North America (Canada and Mexico) qualify for the tax credit, with US-produced feedstocks receiving the highest incentive.

This restriction is expected to maintain a premium for US soybean oil and Canadian canola oil relative to other vegetable oils globally. MPOC said these policy-driven dynamics will continue to support positive sentiment across the vegetable oil market. However, it noted that the rising US demand alone is insufficient to offset the anticipated surge in global soybean supply. South American soybean production is forecast to increase by 8 million tonnes in 2026, reaching 245 million tonnes. The ample supply is expected to weigh on soybean prices, with US soybean inventories in 2026 projected to double from 2023 levels due to high carry-over stocks and a steep decline in exports to China.

Meanwhile, global vegetable oil prices have recovered from early-year losses, led by a sharp rebound in soybean oil, which has risen 19% since January. This outpaced gains in rapeseed oil (+6.6%) and palm oil (+3.7%), while sunflower oil remained relatively stable with a modest 1.7% increase. Soybean oil remains the top-performing vegetable oil year-to-date, supported by the US biofuel policy announced in mid-June, which is expected to spur demand for domestically produced feedstocks. MPOC said the strong soybean oil prices have improved the price competitiveness of palm oil. As a result, Malaysian palm oil exports to India have rebounded significantly since April, narrowing the cumulative decline recorded in

The Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) stated that any rally in vegetable oil prices may be capped by an abundant global oilseed supply, particularly soybeans, as there is currently no shortage of oilseeds in the market. MPOC noted that the domestic palm oil inventories climbed to an 18-month high of 2.03 million tonnes in June, driven by a 10.5% month on-month decline in exports, which fell to 1.26 million tonnes. Despite the slowdown, June 2025 export volume remained higher year-on-year, surpassing 1.19 million tonnes in June 2022, 1.17 million tonnes in June 2023 and 1.21 million tonnes in June 2024. MPOC stated that in the first half of 2025, Kenya ranked as Malaysia’s second-largest palm oil buyer, surpassing the EU by 21,000 tonnes

Further, MPOC said in the third quarter, India is projected to import around 2.9 million tonnes of palm oil to meet festive season demand. This affirms that buying interest will continue to support palm oil prices. In the US, soybean oil prices are expected to remain elevated through the remainder of 2025 and into 2026, MPOC noted. According to the latest US Department of Agriculture projections, soybean oil use for biodiesel in US is forecast to rise by 17%, from 6 million tonnes in 2024 to 7 million tonnes in 2026. For the first time, more than 50% of US soybean oil production is expected to be directed into biodiesel.