KUALA LUMPUR (September 19): Westports Holdings Bhd, Malaysia's premier port operator, is scheduled to be listed on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia on October 18 and will become the year's biggest initial public offering (IPO) in the country.

According to a statement released in conjunction with Westports prospectus launch, the IPO will see the firm dispersing 813.19 million or 23.84% of Westport shares for offering, of which 710.89 million are allocated for local and foreign institutional and selected investors.

The balance 102.3 million shares are for the general Malaysian public, with a retail price of RM2.50 per share.

"We are pleased that the IPO may allow employees, customers and other stakeholders to become shareholders of the company and share our appreciation and continued support," said Westports executive chairman Tan Sri G Gnanalingam in the statement.

Westports' prospectus launch, scheduled to take place this evening, will be witnessed by Malaysia's premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Maybank Investment Bank Bhd, Credit Suisse (Singapore) Ltd and Goldman Sachs (Singapore) Pte Ltd act as joint global coordinators for Westports' listing.

Serving as joint bookrunners for institutional offering are The HongKong and Shanghai Banking Corp Ltd Singapore, Merill Lynch (Singapore) Pte Ltd and RHB Investment Bank Bhd.

AmInvestment Bank Bhd, Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd and RHB Investment Bank are acting as joint underwriters for the retail offering.

Westports, which operates in Port Klang, controls 69% of the market share in container volume throughput, the statement said.