Lee Thiam Wah’s first retail enterprise was promoting snacks from a roadside stall in Malaysia. A number of a long time later, the entrepreneur has reworked that humble starting right into a sprawling retail empire of greater than 2,600 comfort shops throughout the nation.
At present, the 60-year-old was minted as a billionaire after his firm 99 Velocity Mart Retail Holdings Bhd went public in Kuala Lumpur.
The $531 million preliminary public providing is Malaysia’s largest in seven years. On the IPO worth of 1.65 ringgit ($0.38) per share, Lee’s fortune is about $3.3 billion, based on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The inventory rose as a lot as 15% on Monday.
The itemizing cements Kuala Lumpur because the busiest location for market debuts in Southeast Asia this yr and exhibits investor optimism within the nation’s progress potential. The agency’s shares are seen as a approach to construct publicity to the shopper sector in an financial system that’s projected to develop as a lot as 5% this yr.
“It comes at an important second for each Malaysia’s IPO panorama and Southeast Asia’s capital markets,” mentioned Mohit Mirpuri, a senior companion and fund supervisor at Singapore-based SGMC Capital Pte Ltd. “This might increase market sentiment and place Malaysia as a key participant,” in regional listings, he mentioned.
Little store empire
Lee was born in 1964 in Klang, considered one of a number of cities littering the stretch between Kuala Lumpur and the shores of the Malacca Strait. His father, a building employee, and his mom, a hawker, had 11 kids and will solely afford to ship Lee to highschool for six years.
His first retail enterprise—that roadside stall—was born of necessity. As a toddler he contracted polio and completely misplaced the usage of his legs.
“No one would rent me because of my bodily limitation,” he instructed Forbes in 2012. “I’ve to assist myself.”
Lee opened a grocery store in 1987 and a decade later he was working eight shops beneath the identify Pasar Mini 99, the place his spouse, Ng Lee Tieng, 44, began her profession as a buying govt in 1997. Till the IPO, the couple have been the corporate’s sole house owners.
At present, the chain is the most important of its sort in Malaysia, holding a 40% share within the mini-market section and practically 12% amongst all grocery retailers, based on the IPO prospectus.
Lee’s “journey is an inspiring instance for small enterprise house owners, exhibiting that with dedication, perseverance and a customer-focused strategy, it’s potential to scale a enterprise, even from humble beginnings,” mentioned SGMC’s Mirpuri.
Lee will stay as the corporate’s chief govt officer. The 99 Velocity Mart chain kinds the majority of his internet value, together with money collected from dividends and the share sale.
He additionally holds stakes in a number of intently held companies, together with the only Malaysian franchisor of Burger King eating places. Final yr he additionally briefly emerged as one of many greatest particular person shareholders in Alliance Financial institution Malaysia Bhd. with a roughly 5% stake, regulatory filings present.
Bullish market
Because the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index equities benchmark heads to its finest yr since 2010, listings are again after years of lackluster progress.
99 Velocity Mart’s itemizing attracted 14 cornerstone buyers that included abrdn Asia Ltd. and UOB Asset Administration (Malaysia).
About 28% of the proceeds from the IPO will go to the corporate, which plans to setup new shops and distribution facilities, buy supply vehicles and repay loans, based on the prospectus. The corporate posted a revenue after tax of 133.2 million ringgit on income of two.4 billion ringgit for the primary three months of 2024.
The mini-mart operator’s tagline ‘Close to n’ Save’ is a part of a enterprise mannequin that emphasizes comfort and easy accessibility for customers, mentioned Arun George, an analyst at International Fairness Analysis who publishes on the platform Smartkarma.
The size of the agency’s operations create a barrier to entry and enlargement for different mini-market gamers in Malaysia, “hindering their capability to compete successfully” he mentioned.
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