Chewathai given green light to list on the MAI after postponement by SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) earlier this month ordered the company to suspend its plan for an initial public offering (IPO) because it had given information to the media that went beyond what was shown in its official filing documents.
Ratachai Teratanavat, managing director of RHB Securities (Thailand), financial adviser and joint lead underwriter of Chewathai, said the stock-market authorities had now given their approval for the company to resume its listing plan.
The subscription period is now set for today and tomorrow. It expects to make its debut under the trading symbol “CHEWA” on the MAI on April 5.
The IPO price is finalised at Bt1.60, about 11 times its 2015 earning. The company booked revenue of Bt1.43 billion last year, rising 217.9 per cent from 2014, and net profit of Bt83.22 million, up 92.6 per cent.
Ratachai said Chewathai’s strengths lay in the profiles of its shareholders, which include TEE Development, a subsidiary of Singapore-listed TEE Land, which holds 49 per cent of the company. The remaining 51 per cent is held by Chartchewa of the famous Thai business family Panichewa.
Second, Chewathai is well established and has a portfolio of properties in good locations. As of the end of last year, its backlog stood at 321 units, worth a total of Bt949 million, in five projects. These are Chewathai Ramkhamhaeng, Chewathai Interchange, Hallmark Chaeng-wattana, Hallmark Ngamwongwan, and Chewathai Residence Bang Pho, which are expected to provide a revenue stream for the company this year and next.
Third, Chewathai’s managing director Boon Choon Kiat is a certified financier who is capable of seeking merger and acquisition opportunities, besides developing greenfield projects that will take more time. The Chewathai Interchange was among the projects that were acquired from a previous owner.
Chewathai will offer 262 million IPO shares, which will represent |34.93 per cent of its total issued and outstanding stocks. Its current authorised capital stands at Bt750 million, divided into 750 million shares at a par value of Bt1 each, and paid-up capital of Bt488 million. The funds raised from the IPO will be used to finance project development, repaying loans, and reserves for working capital.
As of the end of 2015, Chewathai had eight ongoing and completed projects, seven of which were condominiums worth Bt6.87 billion, and a ready-built factory on a 26-rai (4-hectare) plot in Amata City Industrial Estate, Rayong province.
Boon said Chewathai would launch two new projects during the third |and fourth quarters of this year, |the Chewarom Residence near |Future Park Rangsit, its first low-rise housing project, and the Chewathai Phetkasem 27 condo project near Siam University and the Bang Wa BTS Skytrain station.
It will also start building its second ready-built factory project in the Amata City Industrial Estate, with a total leasable space of 9,100 square metres, in the third quarter.