Singapore ecommerce startup goes public on SGX Catalist to fuel international expansion

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Singapore-based Y Ventures Group announced today it has begun trading on the Catalist board of the Singapore Exchange (SGX), raising US$5.5 million in an initial public offering.

Y Ventures is an ecommerce retailer and distributor, acting as a middleman between brands and online marketplaces. It helps drive sales for its customers as well as its own label, JustNile, on websites like Amazon, eBay, Lazada, and Tokopedia.

To list on SGX’s Mainboard, a company must fulfill certain requirements, like having a market capitalization of more than US$108 million at initial public offering and be profitable in its latest financial year.

Listing on the Catalist board doesn’t have the same requirements but the company must have a sponsor who assesses its ability to list and provides guidance throughout the process. Financial services provider RHT Capital is the issue manager and sponsor for Y Ventures. UOB Kay Hian is the placement agent.

Y Ventures’ share price closed at US$0.18 today, 16 percent above its placement price of US$0.16. Based on post-placement share capital of 200,000,000 shares, this gives the company a market capitalization of US$36.8 million.

Y Ventures’ revenue has doubled in the past two years.

With the new funds, the firm plans to expand its business in Europe and Northeast Asia as well as boost its data analytics tech and feature more products.

The firm uses data analytics to determine its strategies on distribution, procurement, marketing, and more. It analyzes trends, demand, pricing, consumer sentiment, and other variables. It also puts together virtual focus groups to do market research and gather customer insights and feedback.

It reports a revenue of US$12.1 million for financial year 2016 with a gross margin of 43.9 percent. Its revenue has doubled in the past two years.

In total, 196 companies are listed on Catalist, with a combined market capitalization of US$8.6 billion. SGX’s technology cluster is comprised of 76 companies with a combined market capitalization of more than US$59 billion.

The Australian Securities Exchange and the Hong Kong Exchange have recently been seen as the destination of choice for Asian tech IPOs. To attract more technology listings in Singapore, SGX has recently partnered with the country’s Infocomm and Media Development Authority as well as its top research agency, A-STAR.

Converted from Singapore dollars. US$1 = S$1.38