SINGAPORE (July 23): NauticAWT got off to a strong start at its Catalist debut on Thursday, opening at 35 cents, 75% higher than its initial public offering (IPO) price of 20 cents.

The Singapore-headquartered firm offers subsurface, subsea and surface facilities engineering services and contracting solutions for field exploration, field development and field refurbishments for the oil and gas industry. It has 11 offices across Southeast Asia, Australasia, Middle East, Latin America and India.

The IPO, which consisted of 28 million shares, with 1 million shares in the retail tranche and 27 million shares for placement, was 6.1 times subscribed.

By 10.59am, shares in NauticAWT had risen 68% to 33.5 cents. They earlier traded as high as 36 cents, up some 80%.

Out of the IPO’s net proceeds of about $2.8 million, NauticAWT plans to utilise $1.3 million for investment in capital equipment, $0.4 million for expansion of business scope via investments, acquisitions and joint ventures, and the balance of $1.1 million for general and corporate working capital purposes.

The listing would give NauticAWT a platform for its long-term growth strategy, founder and chief executive officer John Gronbech said in a filing on Thursday.

The bourse now has 62 companies in the marine and offshore services sector, with a market value of more than $50 million.