Titijaya latest to shine at listing debut

by **Cals** Thu 28 Nov 2013, 07:13

Posted on 28 November 2013 - 05:39am

Liew Jia Teng

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From left: Charmaine Lim, directors Datuk Wan Ahmad Fauzi and Datuk Ch'ng Toh Eng, Hashim and group managing director Tan Sri Lim Soon Peng at the listing ceremony of Titijaya Land on Bursa Malaysia yesterday. CAROL LEONG/theSun

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KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 28, 2013): Property developer Titijaya Land Bhd continued the positive streak that saw many companies making an impressive debut on Bursa Malaysia so far this year, opening at RM1.80 yesterday, a premium of 30 sen over its RM1.50 initial public offer (IPO) price.

The stock ended the day 17 sen or 11.33% higher at RM1.67, with 76.24 million shares traded.

Titijaya Land COO Lim Poh Yit is expecting more institutional investors to be brought on board, following the entry of Lembaga Tabung Haji (LTH) and Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT) as the anchor investors.

"As of yesterday, based on the shareholders list that we have obtained, we can confirm that both LTH and LTAT are our key investors," Lim told a press conference after the listing ceremony of Titijaya Land here yesterday.

LTH has emerged as a substantial shareholder of Titijaya Land, controlling 17 million shares or 5% stake in the newly-listed group.

LTAT currently has a 2.9% stake in Titijaya Land, by holding 10 million shares in the property firm.

LTH and LTAT had subscribed to Titijaya Land shares through private placements at the entry cost of RM1.50 apiece in Titijaya Land's IPO, which raised RM122.6 million.

Lim said Titijaya Land hopes to attract more institutional investors to strengthen the group's profile as well as explore opportunities for a strategic alliance.

"We always have talks with many institutional investors. But at the moment, nothing has been finalised yet," he said.

Titijaya Land executive director Charmaine Lim Puay Fung said the group will be launching more affordable housing projects, hoping to provide an easier entry for the younger generation to own homes.

"The young generation would want to own a house. Therefore, we will look into the need of these young people, as our product and pricing will be determined by the location and demand," she said.

Earlier in his speech, Titijaya Land non-executive chairman Tan Sri Hashim Meon said the group is constantly on the lookout for opportunities to expand and grow its property development activities to ensure sustainable revenue and profits.

"Titijaya Land's focus is still on strengthening our reputation and presence as a property developer in the Klang Valley.
At the same time, the group is also identifying and sourcing for suitable land banks for expansion into other geographical areas within Malaysia," he said.

The group has allocated RM30 million or 24.5% of its total IPO proceeds for land acquisition in the next 18 months.
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