MYMBN Seals Underwriting Agreement with Mercury Securities
KUALA LUMPUR, 6 June 2023 – MYMBN Berhad (“MYMBN” or the “Company”) today sealed an underwriting agreement with Mercury Securities Sdn Bhd (“Mercury Securities”) in conjunction with its upcoming initial public offering (“IPO”) on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad (“Bursa Securities”). Mercury Securities is the Principal Adviser, Sponsor, Sole Underwriter, and Sole Placement Agent for the Company’s listing exercise, which entails a public issue of 98,000,000 new ordinary shares in the Company (“Shares”).
Pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement, Mercury Securities will underwrite a total of 37,978,000 new Shares, comprising 19,300,000 new Shares made available for subscription by the Malaysian public via balloting and 18,678,000 new Shares set aside for subscription by eligible Directors, employees, and persons who have contributed to the success of MYMBN and its subsidiaries (“Group”).
MYMBN is principally involved in the processing and sale of edible bird’s nests (“EBN”), specifically the raw unclean edible bird’s nests (“RUCEBN”) to both local and international markets, particularly to the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”). MYMBN was the first Malaysian company to obtain approval for the export of RUCEBN to the PRC from the General Administration of Customs of the PRC (“GACC”). The Company is targeting to launch its Prospectus for its IPO at the end of the second quarter of 2023, and it will be the first bird’s nest processor to be listed on the ACE Market of Bursa Securities.
Commenting on the business, the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of MYMBN, Mr. Lavernt Chen Vun Wo (“Lavernt Chen”), said: “There is a rise in demand for Malaysian produced EBN in recent years, not just locally, but also internationally such as in the PRC and Vietnam. We believe that this encouraging consumers’ demand would augurs well and puts us in a strong position to pursue sustainable growth opportunities in our business.”
“Our RUCEBN products are generally sold to manufacturers of bird’s nest-related products such as food and beverages, processors of raw clean edible bird’s nests (“RCEBN”), and traders of EBN products which are mostly exported to customers based in the PRC.”
“According to the Independent Market Research Report by Protégé Associates Sdn Bhd, the PRC is the largest consumer of EBN in the world, and between 2015 to 2022, the demand for EBN has increased, where it recorded a compound annual growth rate of 86.4% during that period. The demand in the PRC has continued to drive exports from exporters in countries that have obtained approval from the relevant authorities in the PRC, such as Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand.”
“Along with the PRC, the demand in Vietnam is also expected to increase in tandem with a rapidly rising middle-income class and increasing disposable income. We thus recognise that these markets will continue to present opportunities for us to tap into and we intend to continue to leverage on our presence to scale our exports to these markets.”
To facilitate its expansion, MYMBN will be utilising its IPO proceeds:
- to finance the Group’s capital expenditure in expanding its processing facility to facilitate our market expansion into Vietnam;
- to expand the distribution channel for the RCEBN segment via a pre-identified acquisition target domiciled in the PRC;
- venturing into halal ready-to-drink bird’s nest products market; and
- expanding our network of bird’s nest collection centres by setting up 3 bird’s nests collection centre in Sabah and Sarawak.
Mr. Lavernt Chen added: “We are delighted to have reached this important milestone in our corporate journey. Signing this Underwriting Agreement will take us one step closer to facilitating the Group’s expansion into the ready-to-drink consumer segment by offering value-added halal bird’s nest products in the marketplace. We are excited to embark on another phase of our business growth to complement our existing revenue streams. We are confident that this IPO will enable MYMBN to tap on opportunities to further enhance our visibility and corporate profile with investors, business partners, suppliers, and customers, and thus, cementing our position in the local and international markets.”