Draft document is for its secondary listing on Bursa Malaysia

PETALING JAYA: Singapore-listed Straits Trading Co's (STC) draft prospectus for a secondary listing in Malaysia will likely appear on the Securities Commission (SC) website early next month, sources said.

STC had, in March, told the Singapore Exchange (SGX) of its intention to have a dual listing on Bursa Malaysia, barely two months after it successfully secured a secondary listing of its subsidiary, Malaysia Smelting Corp Bhd (MSC), on the SGX late January this year.

STC's situation is unique: Its subsidiary MSC is primarily listed on Bursa, with a recent secondary listing on SGX. Parent STC is now looking to do the reverse primarily listed on SGX, it plans to have a secondary listing on Bursa Malaysia.

In its March announcement to SGX, STC said the rationale for its secondary listing on Bursa was that it “will enhance the public profile of the company and provide it with an additional channel to raise capital for its future business expansion”.

STC said it would appoint CIMB Investment Bank Bhd and the Singapore branches of CIMB Bank Bhd and UBS AG to advise its board on the dual listing.

STC's dual listing will mark the first time a Singapore company has sought a secondary listing here.

There have been a few instances where Malaysia-listed companies have secured a secondary listing in Singapore but not the other way around.

“It is likely that STC's plan is to have all its businesses having a presence in both markets,” said one banker.

STC, which now has a market capitalisation of around S$1.16bil (about RM2.85bil), is one of the oldest listed companies in Singapore, having been established since colonial times, in 1887.

The group's mainstay these days is tin mining and smelting, made up primarily of its 54.84% stake in MSC, which is the world's second-largest tin producer.

STC's other main business is property development and hotel operations.

In Singapore, it has commercial and residential developments, focusing on high-end market. In Malaysia, Johan Kekal, the group's 45.5%-owned associated company, has completed a residential project called Sri Bukit Persekutuan, located opposite KL Sentral.

In Ipoh, the group has formed a joint venture with Taiko Development Holdings Sdn Bhd to develop the freehold Thompson-Flora Tropika Residences at Ipoh City Centre.

STC also owns the Rendezvous hotel chain in major cities throughout the Asia-Pacific.