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JustCo
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Joelton
Supreme |
03-Sep-2026 10:49
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JustCo launches 24th Singapore location at Raffles City Tower Mainboard-listed flexible workspace operator JustCo has announced the launch of its 24th location in Singapore at Raffles City Tower. Located across the ninth and 10th floors of the office tower at City Hall, the new centre spans approximately 16,000 sq ft and can accommodate more than 300 members, according to a Sept 2 announcement. Raffles City Tower is owned by CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust. JustCo Raffles City Tower sits directly above City Hall MRT Interchange, serving the North-South and East-West Lines, with seamless sheltered connectivity to Esplanade MRT Station on the Circle Line. &ldquo Businesses today are much more deliberate about where they locate their teams. They want the flexibility of a managed workspace, but they are not willing to compromise on the quality of the address, connectivity or the experience they offer their employees,&rdquo says Kong Wan Long, chief commercial officer, JustCo. &ldquo Raffles City Tower responds to that demand and gives us an important presence in the downtown business district, where we see continued opportunity to serve both established businesses and growing teams.&rdquo JustCo Raffles City Tower adds to the company&rsquo s growing portfolio of Singapore locations, which includes The Collective Labrador Tower, which opened in January this year, and upcoming centres at The Octagon by the boring office, as well as JustCo Place on Orchard Road. JustCo Place will see the group expand its platform beyond flexible workspaces into co-living with the JustAt brand. The new co-living project is a management contract while the co-working centre is already 100% occupied by Deloitte. Across Asia Pacific, the group says it continues to deepen its footprint across key growth markets. Since the start of the year, the group has opened locations in Bengaluru, Gurugram, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Mumbai, Singapore, Taipei and Seoul. In the coming months, there will be additional openings in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, says the group. JustCo listed on the Singapore Exchange in May at 94 cents per share. As at 11.20am, its shares are up 0.5 cents, or 0.9%, at 57 cents. |
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Joelton
Supreme |
08-Aug-2026 15:27
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JustCo &lsquo prepared&rsquo to exit Marina Square ahead of mall&rsquo s redevelopment With Marina Square expected to undergo partial redevelopment in the coming years, newly listed co-working operator JustCo is preparing to relocate from the mall, says CEO Kong Wan Sing. That said, the company has yet to receive a formal notice from the landlord. Speaking at a results briefing on Aug 7, Kong says he expects JustCo&rsquo s 57,000 sq ft space on the mall&rsquo s third storey will eventually be &ldquo affected by the redevelopment&rdquo , but noted that any transition will likely come with &ldquo ample&rdquo lead time of nine to 12 months. The Business Times reported on Aug 6 that two major tenants will leave Marina Square for SingPost Centre in Paya Lebar. DP Architects, which occupies about 45,000 sq ft and PSB Academy, which occupies a total of about 136,000 sq ft, is said to exit Marina Square in 1H2027. Singapore Land Group (SingLand) and its parent company UOL Group jointly own the landlord of Marina Square. The Mainboard-listed property giants said last year that the partial redevelopment of Marina Square is under review and subject to regulatory approvals. &ldquo I think it is a matter of time,&rdquo says Kong. &ldquo As a matter of fact, we are already in preparation for this. That is also the whole reason we took up the OG space.&rdquo JustCo is replacing troubled supermarket chain Hao Mart at 160 Orchard Road, better known as Orchard Point, becoming a master tenant under landlord OG. Under a master lease with OG, JustCo Place will comprise 40 retail units from the basement to the second floor, a 64,000 sq ft premium JustCo co-working space on levels three and four and 123 serviced apartment units spanning about 100,000 sq ft under the new JustAt brand from levels six to 10. &ldquo [JustCo Place] is 100% taken now,&rdquo says Kong. &ldquo But we have other plans [such as] moving our customers to other locations, which also means it will help improve occupancy across [our portfolio].&rdquo SingLand and parent company UOL are planning a major revamp of Marina Square. Announced in December 2025, the revamp envisions three new additions, namely, a residential tower for sale, a serviced apartment block and a mixed-use tower. The mixed-use tower will house hospitality, office and performing arts facilities. The redevelopment will leverage incentives offered under the Urban Redevelopment Authority&rsquo s (URA) Strategic Development Incentive Scheme. Marina Square mall, which comprises around 800,000 sq ft of net lettable space, forms part of the larger Marina Square complex, which also houses three hotels. The entire site spans about 992,400 sq ft and sits on a 99‑ year leasehold that commenced on Sept 9, 1980. JustCo reported on Aug 6 its first set of results since listing on the Mainboard of the Singapore Exchange in May. The company posted a net loss of US$0.8 million for 1HFY2026 ended June 30, an improvement from a net loss of US$1.7 million in 1HFY2025. Excluding one-off IPO expenses, the group&rsquo s 1HFY2026 net profit after tax (NPAT) would be US$0.1 million. |
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Joelton
Supreme |
07-Aug-2026 10:44
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Newly listed JustCo posts US$0.8 mil net loss for 1HFY2026 Newly listed co-working operator JustCo Holdings has posted a net loss of US$0.8 million for 1HFY2026 ended June 30, an improvement from a net loss of US$1.7 million in 1HFY2025. JustCo listed in May. Excluding one-off IPO expenses, the group&rsquo s 1HFY2026 net profit after tax (NPAT) would be US$0.1 million. Free cash flow rose to US$3.2 million from US$0.9 million in 1HFY2025, as cash Ebitda grew 147% y-o-y to US$10.6 million, which more than covered capital expenditure on new centres, according to an Aug 6 announcement. The group&rsquo s cash position also increased by US$65.4 million from end-2025 to US$169.4 million as at June 30, including the IPO proceeds. JustCo says it is &ldquo well-placed to pursue future growth without the need for further fundraising&rdquo . In 1HFY2026, the group&rsquo s revenue grew 24% y-o-y to US$80.8 million, driven by higher revenue per workstation and an expanded network. Revenue per workstation per month across the group increased 11% y-o-y to US$468.45. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, JustCo&rsquo s board plans to distribute a dividend of 50% of NPAT with effect from FY2027. The group expanded its network from 50 centres and 35,067 workstations as at end-2025 to 57 centres and 37,350 workstations as at June. The group has a committed pipeline of 21 centres, which will increase its network to 78 centres. The group recently announced the launch of JustCo Place at 160 Orchard Road, expanding the platform beyond flexible workspaces into co-living. The new coliving project is a management contract. JustCo Place includes a JustCo co-working centre, with Deloitte Singapore as the anchor customer committing to occupy 100% of the space. Kong Wan Sing, executive chairman and CEO of JustCo, says: &ldquo Our IPO in May represents a significant milestone for JustCo as we start our journey as a listed company and celebrate our 15th anniversary. Throughout this process, our team remained focused on executing our expansion strategies. JustCo delivered strong business and operational performance in 1HFY2026, which demonstrated the scalability and potential of our business as our cash Ebitda margins expanded alongside our growing revenue and cash flows.&rdquo Shares in JustCo closed at 63 cents on Aug 6, down nearly 20% from IPO. |
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Joelton
Supreme |
17-Jul-2026 09:34
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Maybank initiates coverage on JustCo with &lsquo buy&rsquo rating at $1.02 Liu Miaomiao of Maybank Securities has on July 15 initiated coverage on the newly-listed JustCo Holdings with a &ldquo buy&rdquo rating and target price of $1.02. Liu believes her valuation is supported by metrics including visible earnings growth, improving occupancy and strong operating leverage. Liu&rsquo s initiation report follows a July 14 call by Dale Lai and Derek Tan of DBS Group Research, who deem this counter worth $1.06, and before that Michael Lim and Terence Lee of UBS, who on June 25 initiated coverage with a target price of $1.18. All three houses were involved in the listing. The co-working operator was listed less than two months ago at 94 cents, and its share price promptly dropped to as low as 50 cents before ending July 15 at 70.5 cents. With 50 centres across 10 cities, the flexible workspace platform delivered a strong operating performance in FY2025 ended Dec 31, with revenue increasing 12.5% y-o-y. Revenue growth was supported by a y-o-y 6.6 percentage point increase in occupancy, a 12.9% y-o-y rise in workstation capacity and 13.1% growth in memberships, notes Liu. The group swung into a net profit of US$2.7 ($3.5) million for FY2025, while results from operating activities increased more than fourfold as improving utilisation drove meaningful operating leverage. The way she sees it, the business demonstrated its scalability with cash ebitda &ldquo surging&rdquo 118.5% y-o-y to US$13.5m. Liu believes in JustCo&rsquo s growth prospects due to expanding pipeline visibility and improving operational efficiency. She forecasts workstation capacity to grow at CAGR of around 19.5% from FY2025 to FY2028, which would support revenue CAGR of roughly 22%. Furthermore, with occupancy estimated to increase by three percentage points by FY2028, Maybank expects stronger operating leverage to support cash ebitda margin expansion from 9.4% in FY2025 to 14.1% in FY2028. As such, cash ebitda is expected to grow at a CAGR of 43% from FY2025 to FY2028. Using a target enterprise value (EV) to cash ebitda multiple of 8.5 times for FY2027, she values the business at $1.02. This is a &ldquo modest&rdquo premium to the lower quartile of peers, reflecting JustCo&rsquo s &ldquo strong&rdquo FY2025 to FY2028 expected revenue and cash ebitda CAGR of 22% and 43%, balanced against execution risks and relatively limited operating scale. Liu believes that JustCo&rsquo s growth potential is undervalued at current 3.3 times EV/Cash ebitda with $151 million of net cash. The counter closed at 70.5 cents on July 15, up five cents or 7.6% from the previos trading day. |
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moonsun
Veteran |
16-Jul-2026 22:42
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Wonder who is ipo manager for justco ? Hmmmm | ||
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Joelton
Supreme |
15-Jul-2026 08:52
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DBS initiates coverage on JustCo with &lsquo Buy&rsquo , S$1.06 target price [SINGAPORE] DBS on Tuesday (Jul 14) initiated coverage on homegrown co-working player JustCo : JCO +7.5% with a &ldquo Buy&rdquo and a 12-month target price of S$1.06. Analysts Dale Lai and Derek Tan said that the regional co-working player is at a structural inflection point, driven by accelerating enterprise demand for hybrid working configurations. Another boost for JustCo will be its ambitious 40 per cent capacity expansion pipeline mapped out for the current fiscal year. The company on Friday said it was taking over the master tenancy at the OG Orchard Point building. The building will be renamed JustCo Place. JustCo also unveiled JustAt, a new co-living brand that will debut at JustCo Place and operate from January next year. Founded and headquartered in Singapore, JustCo has grown into the Republic&rsquo s largest flexible workspace provider, commanding a double-digit penetration share across marquee Asia-Pacific business hubs, according to the DBS report. These include a 15.6 per cent share in Singapore, 17.7 per cent in Bangkok and 35.3 per cent in Taipei. As at late 2025, the group operated a network of 50 centres across 10 regional cities, totalling roughly 35,000 workstations. JustCo had a tough start after its initial public offering of about S$0.94 per share. On its first trading day on May 22, its shares closed at S$0.775 &ndash about 17.6 per cent below its IPO price. Since then, JustCo&rsquo s shares have sunk even lower and closed at S$0.60 on Monday. Apac penetration low The analysts noted that while flexible offices have expanded rapidly across the Asia-Pacific region, structural penetration remains in its infancy. &ldquo Penetration across key markets in Apac remains relatively low at around 5.4 per cent, well below the 10.6 per cent seen in more developed markets such as Central London,&rdquo said the report. &ldquo This underscores the significant structural growth headroom and long-term opportunity in the region.&rdquo Driven by return-to-office trends where peak daily utilisation outpaces weekly averages, corporations are using flexible spaces such as those provided by JustCO to optimise their real estate portfolios dynamically. The broader regional market is forecast to clock a compound annual growth rate of about 14 per cent over the next two years. DBS forecast that FY26 will serve as an operational turning point for JustCo as it deploys a calibrated &ldquo three-pillar expansion strategy&rdquo to launch 28 new locations, stretching its global footprint to about 78 centres by the close of 2026. A core component of this campaign will focus on expanding footprint density in Japan. Beyond current strongholds, the group has concrete plans to break ground in several high-growth target addressable markets, including Hong Kong, India, Malaysia and the Philippines, which are slated to add about 3,900 workstations to the ecosystem. The analysts also pointed out that JustCo will execute this roll-out using a dual operational structure. While it will maintain traditional leases to capture outright occupancy upside, it is increasingly pivoting towards capital-light management contracts. Under management models, landlords bankroll the underlying fit-out capital expenditure, allowing JustCo to scale rapidly, lower balance sheet risk and capture predictable, fee-based revenue. Operational turnaround On the financial front, JustCo&rsquo s disciplined deployment model stands out against historical industry trends, said DBS. Backed by proprietary technology and in-house architectural design, new centres achieve cash earnings breakeven within a five months on average, yielding complete capital expenditure payback within about 16 months. DBS noted that this efficiency has allowed the firm to record three-fold growth in its cash earnings margin, climbing from 3 per cent in 2023 to 9.2 per cent in 2025. JustCo has also not drawn on third-party bank loans since its founding and operates with zero outstanding bank debt, boasting a cash pile of US$104 million at the close of 2025. DBS said it expects the upcoming FY26-FY27 expansion capital requirements of roughly US$130 million to be entirely self-funded via cash reserves and a S$100 million capital injection from its recent public listing. Downside risks to JustCo&rsquo s investment thesis include potential delays in the delivery of the 28 planned pipeline centres, said DBS. This is on top of possibly slower-than-anticipated corporate ramp-up cycles, inflationary pressures on refurbishment materials and localised customer concentration risks across volatile tech sectors. |
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Ramster
Master |
13-Jul-2026 09:32
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The stock is awaken 👍 👍 😁 😁 | ||
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shk363
Elite |
11-Jul-2026 14:36
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rebounding hard and fast | ||
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Joelton
Supreme |
11-Jul-2026 14:00
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JustCo takes over master tenancy at OG Orchard Point building with push into co-living market [SINGAPORE] A new chapter is unfolding for OG&rsquo s Orchard Point building, with listed co-working player JustCo at the helm as master tenant after Hao Mart vacated the premises at the end of last year. To be renamed JustCo Place, the 10-storey building at 160 Orchard Road will be turned into an integrated hub with two floors of co-working space above a three-storey retail podium. JustCo will also take over the management of existing serviced apartments on the upper five floors of the building, turning the 103,000 square feet (sq ft) of residential space into 123 premium co-living units. &ldquo It has always been our vision to do something combining &lsquo live, work, connect&rsquo ,&rdquo JustCo CEO Kong Wan Sing told media. &ldquo This project is our proof of concept&hellip that we can make it work.&rdquo The two floors of co-working space, spanning 64,000 sq ft over the third and fourth levels, have been fully leased to consultancy firm Deloitte. JustCo is now in negotiations with prospective tenants for the 87,000 sq ft of retail space across the basement to the second floor, while the fifth floor will serve as a rooftop terrace for the co-working centre. Kong said that mainboard-listed JustCo had been in discussions with landlord OG since the previous master tenant, Hao Mart, vacated the premises last year. OG terminated the supermarket operator&rsquo s lease last September, less than two years after Taste Orchard opened. It later sued Hao Mart for allegedly failing to pay S$9.2 million in rent and subletting parts of the premises without approval. JustCo&rsquo s discussions ultimately led the landlord to invest &ldquo tens of millions&rdquo to retrofit the building around the &ldquo live, work, connect&rdquo concept, to &ldquo bring new life not just to this building, but also to Orchard Road&rdquo , Kong said. The revamp includes renovating its facade and transforming the existing 88 serviced apartments into 123 &ldquo premium co-living apartments&rdquo . On its part, JustCo invested &ldquo millions&rdquo on fitting out and refurbishing the building&rsquo s retail and co-working spaces, Kong said. The 64,000 sq ft workspace, which opens in September, can accommodate up to 1,300 people. Kong declined to share Deloitte&rsquo s lease terms, but said the average lease with JustCo is about 15 months with built-in renewal options. The multinational currently occupies 150,000 sq ft across 11 floors at OUE Downtown in Shenton Way. The Business Times understands Deloitte has plans to move to a new permanent flagship location in the future. In 2023, Deloitte said it would add around 3,000 new hires in Singapore within five years as part of growth plans across the region. A Deloitte spokesperson told BT that &ldquo a portion&rdquo of its employees will relocate to JustCo Place from OUE Downtown, which it has occupied since 2002, as part of its &ldquo ongoing workplace growth strategy&rdquo . &ldquo This move&hellip reflects our continued investment in creating workplace experiences that support how our people work, collaborate and serve clients,&rdquo the spokesperson said. &ldquo A key thrust of our strategy is to make our workplace future-proof and fit for purpose.&rdquo Deloitte declined to elaborate on how many employees would relocate to JustCo Place, as well as future occupancy plans at this stage. According to Kong, demand for flexible workspaces did not typically come from companies with more than 1,000 employees, such as Deloitte, since most would prefer customised office space. &ldquo If (they have) less than 100 or less than 500 employees, then yes, I do see (that) more are coming in,&rdquo he said. &ldquo So I would say that Deloitte&rsquo s management is quite forward-thinking.&rdquo At JustCo Place, the retail mix will include F& B, lifestyle, wellness and healthcare tenants. JustCo is already in talks with &ldquo quite a number&rdquo of prospective retailers. Kong described the response from retailers as &ldquo overwhelming&rdquo , citing the group&rsquo s track record of generating footfall through its network of co-working centres at shopping malls including The Centrepoint and Marina Square. New frontiers On Friday (Jul 10), JustCo also unveiled JustAt, a new co-living brand that will debut at JustCo Place and operate from January 2027. Occupying the sixth to 10th floors, the 123 serviced apartments can accommodate up to 475 guests. Units are sized between 200 sq ft for a studio and 900 sq ft for a three-bedder. Most apartments will be one-bedders of 400 to 500 sq ft. In a preliminary prospectus issued ahead of its May listing, JustCo said its entry into the co-living sector will create adjacent revenue streams and target the same customer base as its core business of co-working. &ldquo (This will allow) us to capture operational synergies, create additional customer touchpoints and cross-sell integrated serviced apartments and flexible workspace offerings,&rdquo it said. Kong said the group had yet to set JustAt&rsquo s prices, but &ldquo it&rsquo s not going to be like Four Seasons and also not like hostel pricing&rdquo . While JustCo Place&rsquo s co-living and retail components mark new ground for the group, Kong expressed confidence in the project, pointing to its low-risk structure. &ldquo The serviced apartments (have) the most minimum risk you can ever undertake for a project,&rdquo he said. &ldquo It&rsquo s a pure management contract&hellip and it&rsquo s in Orchard Road. How can this not sell in Orchard Road?&rdquo At the same time, Kong noted that the retail component is &ldquo very small&rdquo , lowering leasing risks. &ldquo We are receiving overwhelming response (from retailers) because people see this plan, how we&rsquo re going to rejuvenate it, and also&hellip there&rsquo s footfall coming in (from) Deloitte, people who can pay,&rdquo he said. Asked about the internal rate of return (IRR) needed to make JustCo Place work, Kong said the group typically assessed investments based on both the IRR and payback period. He expects the Orchard project to achieve payback within two to three years, which he said translates to an IRR of &ldquo 20-odd per cent, plus or minus&rdquo . JustCo plans to replicate its &ldquo live, work, connect&rdquo model elsewhere in Singapore and in other markets where it has a presence. Besides Singapore, the group operates in Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, India, Malaysia and Australia. He said JustCo was already in discussions with several interested building owners on similar projects. &ldquo People are all eagerly waiting to see (JustCo Place&rsquo s) launch,&rdquo he said with a smile. &ldquo If there is an opportunity to work on this project in other parts of Singapore or overseas, we are very open to do it.&rdquo But he noted that the group is likely to develop just one or two of such projects in each city, depending on its size. |
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Ramster
Master |
11-Jul-2026 13:19
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Anyone know when will their financial results be release??? | ||
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moonsun
Veteran |
11-Jul-2026 11:22
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Sti rallied.. justco just cold?
Better get out whilst you can.. |
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Ramster
Master |
29-Jun-2026 14:46
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Let shout together for it to reach your target | ||
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Sgvale
Supreme |
29-Jun-2026 14:33
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Hope it will reach 0.685 | ||
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Ramster
Master |
29-Jun-2026 13:18
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Maybe it is still not too late, DYODD | ||
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shk363
Elite |
29-Jun-2026 13:10
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missed the boat | ||
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Ramster
Master |
29-Jun-2026 12:17
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Still NO announcement on who bought/sell the 2.4mil shares? | ||
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Ramster
Master |
29-Jun-2026 10:49
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What is your avg price? My very high .63c | ||
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Sgvale
Supreme |
29-Jun-2026 10:47
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My 2 purchases ave 0.52 safe safe.
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Ramster
Master |
29-Jun-2026 10:20
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Sgvale, you win again now JustCo moving up | ||
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Joelton
Supreme |
29-Jun-2026 09:47
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JustCo&rsquo s dismal debut: Did institutional investors misjudge the company&rsquo s public market value?
[SINGAPORE] Some investors may have been heartened by JustCo&rsquo s announcement last week that it will open a new co-working centre in Singapore&rsquo s Central Business District. The provider of flexible workspaces came to market last month following an initial public offering at S$0.94 per share. On its first trading day, on May 22, its shares closed at S$0.775 &ndash nearly 17.6 per cent below its IPO price. Since then, JustCo&rsquo s shares have sunk even lower. They ended Friday&rsquo s (Jun 26) trading session at S$0.54. The company said last week that the new co-working space, which will be located at level 9 of the Octagon along Cecil Street, forms part of the expansion pipeline announced during its IPO. This provides investors with some assurance that its growth plans are still on track despite the weak post-debut performance of its shares. There is a lot riding on JustCo and other new listings delivering decent returns, in my view. Without a general sense of optimism about IPOs, promising companies may shy away from listing in Singapore &ndash which would be a shame, given the big push to revive the local market through initiatives such as the S$6.5 billion Equity Market Development Programme (EQDP). JustCo raised a total of S$100 million through its IPO and the sale of shares to cornerstone investors. More than four-fifths of these funds will be used to support its expansion in existing and new markets. The company currently has 54 co-working centres in 12 cities in the region. It is aiming to have more than 100 centres across 20 cities by 2029. In 2026 alone, it plans to open a total of 28 new centres &ndash including nine in Japan, a market that the company views as being crucial to its regional expansion. JustCo&rsquo s IPO comes just as it is showing signs of turning profitable. For 2025, it reported a 12.5 per cent rise in revenue to US$144.2 million and a profit after tax of US$2.7 million versus a loss after tax of US$10.1 million in 2024. Its improving profitability and expansion plans aside, JustCo also has some prominent corporate backers. Its prospectus indicated that more than 17.6 per cent of its shares are held by Frasers Property and 22.7 per cent by GIC. The company&rsquo s chairman and chief executive, Kong Wan Sing, who has been buying shares in the market, holds a direct and deemed interest of 18.6 per cent of the company, indicated a filing last week. So, why has JustCo fallen so far below its IPO price? Could anything have been done to ensure a better post-listing performance? Lacklustre post-IPO performance At the beginning of this year, it was reported that more than 30 companies were pursuing preparatory work to list on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) mainboard and Catalist. Some market watchers were expecting to see 15 to 20 companies go public in 2026. Six months into the year, there has been only one other mainboard primary listing besides JustCo &ndash namely, UI Boustead Reit. The industrial and logistics real estate investment trust ended its first trading day, back in March, more than 8.5 per cent below its IPO price of S$0.88 per unit. It closed on Friday at S$0.81 &ndash still nearly 8 per cent underwater. Last week, Temasek-linked Foundation Healthcare lodged a preliminary prospectus for a mainboard listing. Meanwhile, there have been three interesting listings on Catalist this year: AI-powered customer experience platform Toku community living operator The Assembly Place (TAP) and sports events manager Kin Global. Unlike UI Boustead Reit and JustCo, all three of these Catalist companies popped nicely when they debuted. In January, Toku and TAP ended their first trading sessions 14 per cent and 26.1 per cent above their respective IPO prices. In April, Kin Global ended its first trading day 15.2 per cent above its IPO price. This strong start did not last long, though. At their Friday close, Toku, TAP and Kin Global were 22 per cent, 2.2 per cent and 10.9 per cent below their IPO prices, respectively. To be fair, the war in Iran may have weighed on the performance of these new listings &ndash especially the ones that came to market early in the year. If these companies report decent financial numbers, their shares may rise over time. Yet, even against their lacklustre showing thus far, the post-listing performance of JustCo looks terrible. Despite listing only after the Iran war began winding down, it is now trading 42.6 per cent below its IPO price. Institutional investor backing One common refrain in the market when companies do not trade well after listing is that they had been too greedy in pricing their IPOs. Another is that the company in question is not well understood by the public market. Yet, investors do not have to participate in an IPO that is uninteresting or excessively priced. So, how would such companies get listed in the first place? The way I see it, if a newly listed company trades far below its IPO price in the absence of any bad news, it may simply be a reflection of IPO investors having misjudged its public market value. The bulk of the S$100 million raised by JustCo came from the sale of 74.3 million shares to cornerstone investors &ndash which included recipients of EQDP funds such as Avanda Investment Management, JP Morgan Asset Management, Fullerton Fund Management and Amova Asset Management. A further 32.1 million shares were sold through its IPO, which was approximately 3.4 times subscribed. Two investors were disclosed to have taken up more than 5 per cent each of the IPO shares &ndash a BlackRock fund, which was allocated 6.1 million shares and Tecity Asset Management, which was allocated two million shares. Fostering wider institutional investor participation has been a key element of the national effort to revitalise the local market, and persuade more promising companies to list in Singapore. On the whole, it seems to be working. Initiatives such as the EQDP and Value Unlock programme have clearly spurred valuations and trading volumes across the market, and created a more conducive environment for new listings. Yet, the weak post-listing performance of JustCo is a reminder that the participation of institutional investors in an IPO is no guarantee of a good outcome. If JustCo&rsquo s share price does not quickly recover, its listing may end up being remembered for harming rather than helping Singapore&rsquo s prospects as a vibrant capital raising hub. |
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