KUALA LUMPUR (March 26): Chemlite Innovation Bhd (KL:CLITE) ended its first day on the ACE Market underwater, the fifth consecutive listing on Bursa Malaysia to stumble on its debut.

The Penang-based surface finishing services firm opened at 23 sen, compared with its initial public offering (IPO) price of 25 sen per share. The stock continued to slide to a low of 22 sen, before closing 8% lower at 23 sen on Wednesday, after 70.48 million shares changed hands.

Bursa has welcomed five new companies on the Main Market and ACE Market this month, and all five declined, by 5% to 22%, on their listing day alone. Saliran Group Bhd (KL:SALIRAN) lost the most value on its debut two weeks ago.

Chemlite also underperformed the FBM KLCI. The Malaysian benchmark index rose 0.3% on Wednesday.

Demand during Chemlite's IPO, with applications from public investors coming in about 28 times above the number of shares available to them, also failed to carry over to Wednesday.

The IPO raised about RM45 million, with proceeds earmarked for expansion, including the acquisition of new facilities, the establishment of clean rooms, and the scaling up of its Malaysian operations.

Chemlite specialises in surface finishing services, primarily catering to the semiconductor, electrical and electronics, and machinery and equipment sectors. Its main services revolve around electroplating, a chemical process that results in a base metal being coated with a thin layer of another metal.

The company’s new production facility in Penang will house at least four fully automated non-metal plating lines and four semi-automated metal plating lines. The facility, spanning 100,000 sq ft on three acres of industrial land, is expected to enhance the company's operational capacity. 

UOB Kay Hian is the principal adviser, sponsor, underwriter, and placement agent for the IPO.  

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