(Jan 6): Malaysia’s biggest electronics retailer Senheng New Retail Bhd, which is set for a debut this month on the local exchange, is aiming to double its market share by 2025, as it expands its brick-and-mortar and virtual stores. 

In an interview on Wednesday (Jan 5) before the Jan 25 listing, Chairman Lim Kim Heng said that his target is to capture 30% of the domestic market in three years, compared with 13% in 2020. Senheng is planning to raise RM267.5 million (US$64 million) at an offer price of RM1.07 per share, valuing the company at RM1.6 billion. 

Demand for electrical and electronics goods is recovering after suffering a blow in 2020, after the pandemic dented spending in the Southeast Asian nation. The local trade clocked an average monthly retail sales of RM4.9 billion in the nine-month period ended September, up 7% from a year earlier, according to market researcher Smith Zander. 

The numbers are likely to improve further, helped by a rebound in the economy and tax breaks on products including laptops and tablets, the researcher said in a report. Shares of Mr D.I.Y. Group Bhd, Malaysia’s biggest home-improvement retailer, have more than doubled since their debut in October 2020, on investor demand for consumer-oriented businesses. 

Chairman Lim said he’s also aiming to double the market value of the company to about RM3 billion by 2025. TA Securities pegged a target share price of RM1.21 for Senheng New Retail without a rating. That is 13% higher than its IPO price. 

Already operating 105 outlets across the country, the company plans to use more than half the IPO proceeds to upgrade or open 61 stores through 2024. The company’s profit rose 21% to RM34 million in the nine months ended Sept 30 from a year ago, fueled by higher sales from its bigger stores.