KUALA LUMPUR (April 16): Tourism firm Golden Destinations Group Bhd (KL:GDGROUP), which rose 9% during its debut on the ACE Market on Thursday — raising RM135 million from its listing — slipped by the end of the trading day.
The counter opened at 49 sen, 8.9% above its initial public offering (IPO) price of 45 sen. The stock then pared gains to close at 40 sen, down five sen or 11.11% from its IPO price, with 93.55 million shares traded. The stock moved between a low of 40 sen and a high of 49.5 sen in its debut session.
This marks the second-worst debut among the 14 listings on the ACE and Main Markets this year, behind ACE Market-listed One Gasmaster Holdings Bhd — a gas monitoring and piping services specialist— which fell 20% on its first trading day in January.
Ahead of the debut, Golden Destinations’ IPO only saw an oversubscription rate of a little over two times, at a time when investors were reeling from the Middle East conflict that has disrupted the travel industry.
WATCH: Golden Destinations makes ACE debut
Following its listing, Golden Destinations is now well positioned to strengthen its operational capabilities, enhance its brand presence and expand its curated travel offerings, said managing director Mita Lim. “We remain committed to delivering distinctive travel experiences while continuing to broaden our presence in the outbound travel market.”
Golden Destinations operates primarily in the business-to-business segment, supplying travel and cruise packages to a network of over 800 licensed travel agents nationwide, rather than selling directly to consumers. It also provides ancillary services such as flight ticketing.
The IPO raised RM90 million for the company — earmarked for expansion and operations including a new head office — and another RM45 million for Lim, an industry veteran with nearly four decades of experience.
UOB Kay Hian is the principal adviser, sponsor, underwriter and placement agent for the IPO.
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