Lee Thiam Wah’s first venture into retail was selling snacks from a roadside stall in Malaysia. Decades later, the entrepreneur has turned that humble beginning into a sprawling retail empire with more than 2,600 grocery stores across the country.
Today, the 60-year-old is a billionaire after his company 99 Speed Mart Retail Holdings Bhd went public in Kuala Lumpur.
The $531 million initial public offering was Malaysia’s largest in seven years. At the IPO price of 1.65 ringgit ($0.38) per share, Lee is worth about $3.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The stock rose about 15% on Monday.
The listing cements Kuala Lumpur’s position as the busiest location for market debuts in Southeast Asia this year and shows investor optimism about the country’s growth potential. The company’s shares are seen as a way to build exposure to Southeast Asia’s stock market. Consumer sector In an economy expected to expand by up to 5% this year.
“This comes at a pivotal moment for both the Malaysian IPO landscape and Southeast Asian capital markets,” said Mohit Mirpuri, senior partner and fund manager at Singapore-based SGMC Capital Pte Ltd. “This could boost market sentiment and position Malaysia as a major player” in regional listings.
Little Shop Empire
Lee was born in 1964 in Klang, one of several towns along the stretch of land between Kuala Lumpur and the shores of the Straits of Malacca. His father, a construction worker and his mother a street vendor, had 11 children and could only afford to send Lee to school for six years.
His first business venture—a roadside kiosk—was born out of necessity. As a child, he had contracted polio and lost the use of his legs forever.
“Nobody will hire me because of my physical disability,” he told Forbes in 2012. “I have to help myself.”
Lee opened a grocery store in 1987 and a decade later was running eight stores under the name Pasar Mini 99, where his wife, Ng Lee Ting, 44, started her career as purchasing manager in 1997. Until the IPO, the couple were the sole owners of the company.
Today, it is the largest chain of its kind in Malaysia, with a 40% share in the convenience store segment and about 12% among all grocery retailers, according to its IPO prospectus.
“Lee’s journey is an inspiring example for small business owners, showing that with determination, perseverance and a customer-centric approach, it is possible to scale a business, even from humble beginnings,” said Mirpuri of SGMC.
Lee will remain CEO of the company. The 99 Speed Mart chain makes up the bulk of his net worth, along with cash raised from stock dividends and sales.
He also owns stakes in several closely held companies, including the sole Malaysian franchisee of Burger King restaurants. Last year, he briefly emerged as one of the largest individual shareholders in Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd with a stake of about 5%, according to regulatory filings.
bull market
With the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI stock index heading for its best year since 2010, the listings are back after years of lacklustre growth.
The listing of 99 Speed Mart attracted 14 anchor investors including abrdn Asia Ltd. and UOB Asset Management (Malaysia).
About 28% of the IPO proceeds will go to the company, which plans to build new outlets and distribution centres, buy delivery trucks and repay loans, according to the prospectus. The company reported a profit after tax of RM133.2 million on revenue of RM2.4 billion for the first three months of 2024.
The convenience store operator’s “Near n’ Save” mantra is part of a business model that emphasizes convenience and accessibility for consumers, said Arun George, an analyst at Global Equity Research who publishes on the Smartkarma platform.
He said the company’s scale of operations was a barrier to entry and expansion for other players in Malaysia’s smaller markets, “hampering their ability to compete effectively”.
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