#money #IPO
Every new ticker on Bursa Malaysia is the end of a long, gruelling journey most investors never see. In Episode 1 of Beyond the Prospectus, a new series of conversations about going public, staying public and growing, Aurum Story host Stephanie Ng and Do More’s Khoo Hsu Chuang go behind the scenes with Gary Ting, Head of Corporate Finance at M&A Securities, one of Bursa’s most active IPO houses.
Gary took Inari Amertron to market at a RM138 million valuation; he says it’s now worth around RM11 billion. He backed a four-year-old furniture company led by a 29-year-old MD that has since moved up to the Main Market, and his team brought Aquawalk, the operator of Aquaria KLCC, to Bursa. He’s also seen the other side: deals called off over shrinking profits, and one founder so stressed by permits and paperwork that he scrapped his IPO after the Buddha appeared in his dream.
Gary walks through his five pillars of IPO readiness, the red flags retail investors should watch for, and which chapters of the prospectus (or as he calls it, “the phone book”) are actually worth your time. The three also dig into ACE vs. Main Market, how to spot founders who are really cashing out, why IPOs shouldn’t be priced to the max, and what the real price of going public looks like long after the listing ceremony.
TL/DW of the episode:
→ The Work Behind a Listing: Why getting IPO-ready can take one to two years, and the misconception that trips up most founders
→ Gary’s 5 Pillars: Track record, sustainability, a growing industry, strong management and good governance, and where companies usually fall short
→ The Pre-IPO Nightmare: The stressed-out founder who called off his IPO after the Buddha told him to in a dream
→ Red Flags for Retail Investors: A short history, weak cash flow, declining profits, and “AI companies” that just distribute AI tools
→ Read the Prospectus, Seriously: The chapters that matter most, and whether AI can read it for you
→ ACE vs. Main Market: Gary’s “potential vs. proof” rule, and why some Main-sized companies still start on ACE
→ Builders vs. Exiters: What the offer for sale and use of IPO proceeds can tell you about a founder’s intentions
→ Leave Something on the Table: Why pricing an IPO to the max ends up hurting investors
→ Life After Listing: The ATM mentality, the “time to chill” trap, and why companies must keep telling their growth story
CHAPTERS
00:00:00 – Intro & what it really takes to go public: Gary’s 5 pillars
00:11:16 – Spotting a good IPO: red flags, strong management & AI-washing
00:22:15 – Read the prospectus! Which chapters matter & can AI do it for you?
00:30:29 – Deal breakers, ACE vs. Main & pricing an IPO fairly
00:47:20 – Life after listing & Gary’s advice for founders and future bankers
Gary Ting, Head of Corporate Finance at M&A Securities
Follow Gary here:
URL: https://www.mnaonline.com.my/index.php/about-us/
Follow Chuang here:
URL: http://www.domore.my/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hsu-chuang-khoo-ab199343/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/khoo.chuang/
IG: instagram.com/khoohsuchuang/
Stephanie Ng, Host of Aurum Story
Follow Stephanie here:
URL: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ngsteph/
Follow DoMore here:
WEBSITE: https://www.domore.my/
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/c/DoMoreTakeChargeofYourLife
ITUNES: https://apple.co/2lQ47mS
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