FIBROMAT MAKES LACKLUSTRE DEBUT ON ACE MARKET

KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 (Bernama) -- Fibromat (M) Bhd made a lacklustre debut on Bursa Malaysia’s ACE Market today, following its transfer from the LEAP Market.

The geotechnical services firm opened at 46 sen, 16 per cent below its initial public offering (IPO) price of 55 sen per share.

Fibromat specialises in the design, manufacturing, installation, and trading of geosynthetics and erosion control products.

Executive director Wallace Ng Chun Hou said the company may need to strengthen its performance further to build investor confidence.

"We grew from a small company into a more integrated geotechnical solutions provider, and today, many of our customers, including developers and government agencies, believe in us.

"But from a capital market perspective, we acknowledge there is still room for improvement. We need to continue delivering strong performance to build investor confidence over time," he said at a press conference in conjunction with the listing.

Fibromat is the latest ACE Market listing to underperform, with all eight debuts since March closing below their IPO prices on the first day.

Wallace also suggested that the weak market performance may be due to limited public awareness and understanding of the value of its specialised work.

“When the public sees greenery along highways, they do not know the engineering behind it. We are proud of our contributions, but we also recognise the need to raise awareness — and we believe this will help better reflect our value in the capital market,” he said.

Meanwhile, Fibromat’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Ng Kian Boon, said the IPO raised RM17.8 million in proceeds.

“With the RM17.8 million raised from the initial public offering, we plan to use about RM7.6 million to purchase two jute-based erosion control blanket stitching machines and four dust collectors with ducting.

“All the new machines will be installed at our factory located in Rasa, Selangor, to expand our production of erosion control blankets,” he said.

He added that the company also plans to enhance its in-house capabilities by setting up a prefabricated vertical drain (PVD) installation team and acquiring five hydraulic excavators.

PVDs are geosynthetics installed in soft ground to improve soil stability.

Fibromat’s notable projects include the West Coast Expressway, the Sarawak Second Trunk Road, and Phase 1A of the Sabah Pan Borneo Highway.

The company is also actively bidding for contracts under Phase 1B of the Sabah Pan Borneo Highway and the Sarawak-Sabah Link Road.

-- BERNAMA