Cleaning services company LS 2 Holdings made its trading debut on the morning of Feb 24. Its IPO offer price was 20 cents.
As per normal, SGX hosted a listing ceremony for this latest issuer on the Catalist, with the usual gong and pageantry.
Amid the wider market woes over hostilities between Russia and Ukraine, LS 2 surged to as high as $1.60 before ending the day at 88 cents – up a whopping 340%. In contrast, the STI dropped 3.4%.
With this unusually big trading pop, SGX RegCo was compelled to issue a “trade with caution” on the stock at 9.30 pm.
In its announcement, SGX RegCo notes that out of the 207 placees, 166 sold their entire allotment.
“Majority of these accounts are concentrated through a common trading representative and the selling was concentrated within the first half hour of the trading,” states SGX RegCo.
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Under SGX rules for IPOs, there has to be at least 200 different investors for a new IPO and they have to hold at least 15% of the shares.
RHT Capital is the issue manager and full sponsor for the IPO, while Soochow CSSD Capital Markets (Asia) is the placement agent.
With this counter on its radar, the market regulator says it will take necessary actions, including looking into the placement, reviewing the activity and referring the matter to statutory authorities where warranted.
