Pekat to accelerate solar PV, ELP expansion post listing
24 Jun 2021
The solar PV specialist has raised RM44.4 from its public issue of 138.7m new shares at 32 sen per share
Pekat Group Bhd will use the RM44.4 million raised from its listing exercise to expand its solar photovoltaic (PV) and earthing and lightning protection (ELP) businesses.
Its MD Chin Soo Mau said the company planned to utilise RM18 million to construct a new head office and operational facilities.
He said RM12.7 million has been allocated for working capital requirements, particularly for purchasing materials for its projects such as solar PV modules, solar PV inverters, and ELP products and accessories.
He also said RM10 million will be used to repay bank borrowings, while the remaining RM3.7 million is for the listing expenses.
“With the proceeds from its successful listing exercise, Pekat is pushing ahead to expand its solar PV and ELP businesses,” Chin said after the company’s exceptional debut on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia yesterday.
Pekat’s shares opened at a 165.6% premium at 85 sen, or 53 sen higher over its issue price of 32 sen.
The solar PV specialist has raised RM44.4 million from its public issue of 138.7 million new shares at 32 sen per share.
Based on the enlarged share capital of 645 million shares, the group is expected to have a market capitalisation of RM206.4 million after listing.
Chin said the new head office with a total built-up area of 114,252 sq ft will be an integrated facility incorporating the head office, showcase area, central monitoring station, training centre, workshop and warehouse.
The proposed premise, slated for completion and operational by December 2023, will be a “zero net energy building” to showcase the use of solar PV as renewable energy to power commerce and industrial buildings.
The MD said the increase in working capital will speed up the company’s capability to secure more contracts, carry out more projects concurrently and provide more maintenance services.
He said Pekat will gain from the various government initiatives, financial incentives and tax breaks for the solar PV industry and the rebound in the construction sector, driven by the resumption of activities across all subsectors.
Current incentives and tax breaks include the Green Technology Financing Scheme and the Green Investment Tax Allowance provided by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority.
“We also intend to focus on our commercial and industrial solar rooftop projects. We should benefit from various solar PV programmes, such as the latest rooftop solar initiative by the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry called the Net Energy Metering (NEM) 3.0 programme,” he said.
The NEM 3.0 programme will be in effect from 2021 to 2023, with a total quota of 500 megawatt allocated to further boost the uptake of solar adoption for residential, commercial and industrial users.
As of May 3, Pekat’s existing orderbook stood at RM154.9 million, comprising RM92.8 million for solar PV projects and RM62.1 million for ELP projects.
Some RM117.2 million will be billed this year, RM24.8 million (2022), RM11.5 million (2023) and RM1.4 million (2024).
Pekat’s shares closed at 81.5 sen, up 49.5 sen in active trade on its maiden trading day.
Source: The Malaysian Reserve
