Carsome makes case for listing in Malaysia over US

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Hello reader,

To be honest, I don’t really understand all the hype about IPOs. Sure, I get that it’s a milestone for a company and its shareholders. But I don’t understand why the media loves reporting about when IPOs are likely to happen or not.

As Carsome’s CEO and co-founder Eric Cheng noted at the Tech in Asia conference in Kuala Lumpur last week, an IPO is “not an end destination.” It will happen when it does, and that’s a good time to take a closer look at its financials. But why make a fuss over the timing of the listing?

Yet as I sat there listening to his session, I couldn’t help but notice the buzz among the audience when Cheng was asked about Carsome’s IPO plans and whether it was aiming to go public before rival platform Carro.

I suppose people love a good story about a big pay day and competition.

So with some sense of how this may seem hypocritical, this week’s featured story is on Carsome’s listing plans. Cheng revealed that the company is looking to go public within the next two years. More interestingly, he said that Bursa Malaysia “has a slight edge” at the moment in terms of where Carsome might list, although no decisions have been made.

The story also looks at how two other Southeast Asian startups, Julo and Sunday, are eyeing IPOs. While large players like Grab and Sea chose a US listing, it makes sense for startups from the region to consider going public in markets where investors are already familiar with their product.

— Simon

THE BIG STORY

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Unicorn Carsome prefers Malaysia over US for future IPO
Listings on Bursa Malaysia have raised US$723 million this year, 43% more than the same period in 2023.

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