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KUALA LUMPUR: Johor-based Farm Price Holdings Bhd (FPH), a wholesaler and distributor of fresh vegetables, signed an underwriting agreement with Alliance Islamic Bank Bhd (AIS) for its upcoming initial public offering (IPO) on the ACE market of Bursa Malaysia. FPH managing director Dr Tiong Lee Chian said signing this underwriting agreement with AIS brings the company closer to its upcoming listing on the ACE market of Bursa Malaysia. “This unlocks greater resources and flexibility to fuel our expansion plans and explore new avenues for growth. “We firmly believe that the fresh vegetable industry is crucial to Malaysia’s food security, supporting public health, sustenance, and affordability. “As a wholesale distributor, we play a key role in the supply chain. We source fresh vegetables from domestic and foreign growers, distributors, and importers, providing us with a range of vegetables to meet the fresh vegetable requirements of our customers, mainly in Johor and Singapore. “Having started this business with my spouse and business partner, Liew Tsuey Er, twenty years ago, we have built a solid track record in the industry. Today, Farm Price offers a vast selection of fresh vegetables to meet the diverse needs of our customers. In addition to variety, we also provide value-added services such as processing prepacked and fresh-cut vegetables to enhance convenience and reduce preparation time for our customers,” Tiong said in a statement. FPH’s IPO exercise encompasses the public issuance of 102.00 million shares, representing 22.67 per cent of its enlarged share capital, and the offer for sale of 33.00 million existing shares, or 7.33 per cent of its enlarged share capital, via private placement to selected investors. Out of the 102.00 million shares, 22.50 million shares will be made available to the Malaysian public via balloting, 11.25 million shares to its eligible Directors, employees and persons who have contributed to the success of FPH (pink form allocations), while the remaining 68.25 million shares will go towards private placements to selected investors. Under the underwriting agreement, AIS will underwrite 33.75 million new shares made available to the Malaysian public and pink form allocations. FPH, via its subsidiaries, wholesales and distributes fresh vegetables, food and beverage (F&B) products, and other groceries. The company also operates a retail store in Ulu Tiram, Johor, where it directly sells fresh vegetables, F&B products, and other groceries to end-consumers. The wholesale distribution segment was the largest revenue contributor to FPH. Currently, the Senai Centralised Distribution Centre, coupled with the cold chain infrastructure of refrigerated trucks and cold room facilities, enables the Group to deliver fresh vegetables efficiently and promptly to meet the customers’ needs, mainly in the state of Johor in Malaysia and Singapore. Additionally, the company maintains six other regional distribution centres in Johor, Selangor, Perak, and Penang, which focus on the wholesale distribution of F&B products and other groceries. FPH’s processing and packing operations in its Senai Centralised Distribution Centre are ISO 9001, good manufacturing practice (GMP), and hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) certified, ensuring stringent quality control measures. At the same facility, it has also obtained Halal certification for prepacked and fresh-cut vegetables, assuring product integrity and opening doors to broader market reach. “Recognising the essential nature of this industry, FPH is committed to long-term growth. As part of our strategies, we plan to construct additional facilities to expand our Senai Centralised Distribution Centre, which is expected to double the size of our current facilities. “We will also establish additional regional distribution centres with cold room facilities in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan and Cameron Highlands, Pahang, and set up a sales and marketing office in Singapore. “These initiatives will allow us to expand our operational facilities and market coverage for business growth,” Tiong said. FPH is scheduled to be listed on the ACE market of Bursa Malaysia by May 2024, with AIS as the principal adviser, sponsor, sole underwriter and placement agent for the IPO exercise.

KUALA LUMPUR: United Kingdom-born vaping company Airscream, with a presence in more than 80 markets and regions, will invest RM100 million in the next five years in its operations in Malaysia. The company will also invest in expanding its distribution networks, administrative and field staff strength, and research and development facilities, envisioning Malaysia becoming its global headquarters. To date, the company has already set up its administrative, sales and marketing operations and a showroom in Shah Alam, with close to 40 employees locally and 100 globally. Airscream said Malaysia is a destination of choice because the domestic vape industry has grown in value to exceed RM3 billion over the last 10 years and has employed more than 30,000 Malaysians, citing a report by the Malaysian Vape Chamber of Commerce (MVCC) entitled Study on the Malaysian Vaping Industry 2021. Airscream co-founder and chief executive officer Sam Ong said the Malaysian vape industry ecosystem is well established, and the market is poised for further growth. He said this could potentially drive more foreign direct investments into the country and bolster high-income job creation. “We are also encouraged by the passing of the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill 2023, which brings Malaysia on par with other countries around the world, including the UK, Australia, Thailand, and Singapore, which have standalone legislation on tobacco and vape. “Airscream has and will always be supportive of sensible and practical regulations for the e-cigarettes industry to deliver tangible economic growth while at the same time safeguarding consumers from potentially hazardous unregulated products and stopping underaged individuals from accessing these products,” he said in a statement. Airscream was established in 2018 as a manufacturer and retailer of its AirsPop® vape product. Within a short period of time, the company has grown exponentially in terms of sales and presence. AirsPops is currently one of the best-selling brands in markets like South Africa and New Zealand. Airscream’s success has been predicated on its unwavering commitment to product quality and safety, design innovation, and superb user experience. Airscream is also steadfast in its purpose of helping smokers reduce their dependence on cigarettes or even eliminate their use. In Malaysia, Airscream offers a range of high-quality tobacco cessation products, such as the Bottle by AirsPops, AirsPops Pro, AirsPops Pro Lite, AirsPops ONE USE, the nicotine pouch range M13, and more, for adult smokers and vapers. “We welcome the opportunity to collaborate and work hand-in-glove with industry stakeholders, including the authorities and regulators, manufacturers and retailers and industry interest groups to elevate the industry as a whole. “We believe there is much to learn from the Malaysian industry participants, and we hope to add value through our insights and experience in the international markets,” Ong said.

KUALA LUMPUR: Cloud hospital and mobile health services provider UCrest Bhd and MDC Asia Link Bhd (MDC)signed a business partnership agreement to digitalise the iMedic platform with artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Medical Things (IoMT). MDC chief executive officer Dr Aslan Bacho said the company is leading the transformation of dental care services with the use of AI, IoT, 3D printing and digital technologies to provide customers with a level of care and services while improving the clinic’s operation efficiency. “We focus on taking care of children’s dental health, developing good dental habits from a young age and continuously managing them, giving them good dental health throughout their lifetime. “With the digital technologies, customers can count on us to manage their dental health,” he said in a statement. MDC is the first dental clinic chain in Malaysia or perhaps Asia to use AI, IoMT and 3D printing technologies to elevate the standard of care and provide better healthcare management services to customers. MDC currently has 25 dental clinics, largely in the Klang Valley area, and is one of the largest dental clinic chains in the country. Its special focus is on paediatric dental care for children and its general dentistry and orthodontic services. The environment of the clinics is designed to be conducive to children with colourful settings and play areas, and the dentist and nurses are specially trained to handle children on the dental chairs. The partnership’s objective is to raise the standard of care in the dental industry and provide patients with the highest level of care. MDC will adopt the iMedic platform as the clinic management system (CMS). MDC will also adopt 3D printing in the clinics to provide higher-quality dental products to its customers. The machine learning of AI technologies in iMedic would help to analyse and diagnose images easily and more accurately. MDC intends to deploy a fundus camera with AILab from UCrest in the clinics connecting to ophthalmologists to provide non-invasion diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy so that patients can seek diabetic treatment while treating periodontal diseases. “With the iMedic platform, dentists and health consultants would be able to develop a personalised dental health plan for each customer and proactively manage and service them,” UCrest chairman Eg Kah Yee said. “The AI technologies will be able to diagnose with high precision and predicting the development of the patient’s dental diseases, allowing early preventive measures to be taken,” he added. iMedic is the leading digital health platform developed by UCrest and is currently used in multiple countries in Asia, the Middle East, and the United States (US). iMedic leads the market with its IoMT and AI, which empower patients to manage their health better and increase the productivity of doctors and clinics through AI and automation. iMedic connects to over 30 wireless medical devices, including ECG, blood pressure monitor, oximeter, ultrasound, BMI machines, CPAP, fundus cameras, etc.

KUALA LUMPUR: Engineering solutions provider Kawan Renergy Bhd (KRB) signed an underwriting agreement with M&A Securities Sdn Bhd for its upcoming initial public offering (IPO) on the ACE market of Bursa Malaysia. KRB managing director Ir Lim Thou Lai said this IPO exercise would expedite the company’s expansion plans and allow it to tap into the equity capital market, granting better financial flexibility to capitalise on the upcoming opportunities. “The IPO proceeds will mainly be used as working capital to enable the company to undertake more quality projects, move up the value chain, and strengthen our power generation and energy sale businesses. “The industrial process equipment industry continues to show promising prospects, supported by the improved demands of various sectors that utilise such equipment,” Lim said in a statement. KRB, through its subsidiaries, Kawan Engineering Sdn Bhd and Kawan Green Energy Sdn Bhd, designs, fabricates, installs, and commissions industrial process equipment, process plants, and renewable energy and co-generation plants. Its engineering solutions apply to various industries such as food processing, oleochemical and chemical processing, oil and gas, waste recovery, power plants, and utilities. Apart from the above, the company is also involved in the power generation and sale business through Bercham Plant, a landfill biogas power plant located in Ipoh, Perak, with an installed capacity of 1.2 megawatts of electricity and a net export capacity of 1.0MW. KRB’s IPO involves a public issue of 110.0 million new ordinary shares, which comprise 20.0 per cent of its enlarged share capital. Additionally, there’s an offer for sale of 34.5 million existing shares, accounting for 5.3 per cent of its enlarged share capital. These shares will be offered to selected investors through a placement exercise, with 1.0 per cent allotted to selected Bumiputera investors, as approved by the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI). Out of the 110.0 million new shares, 27.5 million will be made available to the Malaysian public via balloting, while 19.3 million shares will be allocated for eligible directors, employees, and persons who contributed to the success of KRB via pink form allocations. The remaining 63.2 million shares are reserved for selected Bumiputera investors approved by MITI. M&A Securities will also underwrite 46.8 million shares made available to the Malaysian public and the pink form allocations. “Increasing foreign direct investment (FDI) in Malaysia is set to boost our industrial process equipment, especially for sectors like oleochemicals, food industries, utilities, oil and gas, and sustainable fuel. “The weakening of the ringgit also helps make our products more locally and internationally competitive,” Tan said. “Additionally, the transition towards renewable energy and energy-efficient co-generation opens up great opportunities for KRB. “As the world shifts to more sustainable energy solutions, our proven capabilities in the integration of design, fabrication, installation, and project management in these areas position us well to meet the paradigm shift in the energy sector,” Lim said. KRB is scheduled to be listed on the ACE market of Bursa Malaysia by the second quarter of 2024, with M&A Securities as the principal adviser, sponsor, underwriter, and placement agent for its IPO.