PAPPAJACK Bhd, which has emerged the first pawnbroking group to list on Bursa Malaysia, debuted today on the ACE Market at 39 sen which is 30% above its initial public offering (IPO) price of 30 sen.
The group’s allotment of 33.40 million new shares for the Malaysian public were oversubscribed by 21.73 times.
“We have been working diligently since 2014 to grow our business and finally, we are seeing the fruits of our hard work,” commented Pappajack managing director and CEO Lim Boon Hua.
“Through experience in operating pawnbroking outlets and sheer determination from everyone at Pappajack, we have managed to expand and operate 25 pawnbroking outlets around the country (in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Negeri Sembilan, Johor and Perak) today.”
From the RM50.10 mil in proceeds raised from the company’s IPO, RM27.08 mil will be allocated for the cash capital of Pappajack’s existing 20 pawnbroking outlets while RM19.22 mil will be used to fund the expansion of Pappajack’s pawnbroking outlets and the remaining RM3.80 mil as listing expenses.
Pappajack’s expansion plans include the opening of five pawnbroking outlets in Penang, Pahang and Selangor following the listing.
“We are proud to announce that two new pawnbroking outlets are opened in Selangor and Pahang today, being part of the five planned new pawnbroking outlets, giving us a total of 27 pawnbroking outlets as of today,” noted Lim.
Over the longer term, the group also intends to set up and open new pawnbroking outlets and/or acquire third party pawnbroking outlets in Peninsular Malaysia to widen its network and increase its market reach.
“We believe that the listing will strengthen our brand and profile to be one of the leading players in the pawnbroking industry,” envisages Lim.
The company provides pawn loans of up to RM10,000 per pawn transaction as approved by the Housing and Local Government Ministry (KPKT) against the pledges of gold items and luxury watches.
At the close of today’s mid-day trading, Pappajack which was the day’s most active stock was up 8 sen or 26.67% to 38 sen with 152.86 million shares traded, thus valuing the company at RM254 mil. – April 1, 2022
