KUALA LUMPUR (March 27): Building contractor Inta Bina Group Bhd has received the green light from Bursa Malaysia to list on the ACE Market by the second quarter of this year.

The initial public offering (IPO) will facilitate Inta Bina with greater financial flexibility to pursue future growth opportunities and enhance its reputation in the marketing of its construction services to expand its customer base in Malaysia, the group said.

It will also help the group retain and attract skilled employees in the construction industry, group managing director Paul Lim Ooi Joo said in a media release today.

Inta Bina's IPO, advised by M&A Securities Sdn Bhd, will involve the issuance of 107.05 million new shares, representing 20% of its enlarged share capital.

Of the 107.05 million new shares, 26.76 million will be available to the Malaysian public to subscribe via balloting and 20.01 million for its eligible directors and employees.

Another 53.53 million new shares have been reserved for selected Bumiputera investors, while the remaining 6.75 million is earmarked for private placement to selected investors.

As part of its listing exercise, Inta Bina's existing shareholders will also make an offer to sell 26.76 million shares to selected investors by way of private placement.

"Proceeds from the IPO will be used primarily for general working capital requirements, which will be used to finance Inta Bina Group's day-to-day operations including the working capital requirements for its future projects," Inta Bina said.

It added that part of the proceeds will also be used for general working capital expenditure to purchase various machineries and equipment to support the company's business expansion and to replace fully depreciated equipment, as well as repayment of bank borrowings and listing expenses.

To date, Inta Bina has completed more than 110 building construction projects, mainly in the Klang Valley and Johor, with total contract value of more than RM2 billion.

Inta Bina's clients include Eco World Development Group Bhd, Gamuda Bhd, UEM Sunrise Bhd and Mah Sing Group Bhd.