Tiong Woon, one of Southeast Asia’s biggest crane rental companies, has floated on the Singapore stock exchange.
A total of 56.6m shares were placed, at 20 cents each. Of these, 11.3m were offered to the public, 5.7m were reserved for employees and business associates, and 39.6m were placed out.
The initial public offering, which represents about 25% of the company’s enlarged share capital – raised about S$11.3m ($6.7m), of which S$3.6m will be used to pay back loans taken out to build a new head office and S$2.5 will be available for general working capital.
In a clear vote of confidence in the future of the company, at the close of the offering on 15 September, 91,935 applicants had applied for nearly 2,450m offer shares – which was 216.4 times the number of shares available.
Tiong Woon Crane & Transport was founded in 1978 by the late Ang Choo Kim. For the past 19 years Ang Kah Hong has been chairman and managing director.
Today the company has a fleet of 145 cranes, 53 prime movers, 112 trailers and 10 hydraulic multi-axle lowbed trailers, plus 10 tugboats and 17 barges. Heavy lifting and haulage accounts for two thirds of 1998’s S$46.6 ($27.6m) turnover. It also has subsidiaries in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.
KH Ang said the company would continue to concentrate on its core competencies of “providing integrated services of heavy haulage and lifting and marine transportation”.
Of the success of the share offer, he said: “We are very pleased with the overwhelming response from investors and the confidence they have shown in Tiong Woon Corporation. With the expected recovery of the region, Tiong Woon is well positioned to take on new business opportunities.”
