KUALA LUMPUR: Investors have been off-loading new kid on the block shares in Bursa Malaysia, slashing the values of newly listed companies by up to 35 per cent since their market debut.
Of the nine companies listed this year, Oriental Kopi Holdings Bhd had dramatically stood out by nearly doubling its initial public offering (IPO) price to close at 87.5 sen per share on Jan 23, marking the most impressive performance debut among the newcomers.
However, the tide has turned against the local coffee chain, with its shares now sitting at 66.5 sen each, a decline of 24 per cent from its inaugural closing price.
Despite the downturn, Oriental Kopi remains the sole debutant to maintain a share price above its IPO level, signalling sustained investor interest.
The sell-off has hit other market entrants hard, including Northern Solar Holdings Bhd, Richtech Digital Bhd, Swift Energy Technology Bhd and TechStore Bhd.
These companies have seen their market caps plummet by 39.24 per cent, 34.37 per cent, 30.37 per cent and 25 per cent, respectively.
At the lighter end of losses, CBH Engineering Holding Bhd, ES Sunlogy Bhd and Colform Group Bhd have seen their values diminish by 20.89 per cent, 15 per cent and 6.41 per cent, respectively.
Aside from Oriental Kopi, all these ACE Market-listed companies are now trading below their IPO prices.
Pantech Global Bhd, Bursa Malaysia's newest entrant, which debuted on the Main Market yesterday, closed flat at 57.5 sen.
On its first trading day, shares of Pantech Global took a steep dive, making it the year's biggest loser among debut stocks thus far.
The steel pipe manufacturer opened at a disappointing 46.5 sen, marking a 32.6 per cent drop from its IPO price of 68 sen.
The stock reached an intraday low of 40 sen and a high of 63 sen before closing 15.44 per cent lower at 57.5 sen.
Interestingly, all of these newly-listed companies saw their IPO shares astoundingly oversubscribed by between 34 times and as high as 245 times.
Collectively, they raised a total of RM725.83 million from their IPOs, with Oriental Kopi and Pantech Global raising the most at RM184 million and RM178 million, respectively.
Despite their shrinking market values, analysts are still bullish on these newly-listed companies.