CHINA'S K-STAR TO OFFER 3.4 MLN SHARES TO M'SIAN PUBLIC

KUALA LUMPUR, May 4 (Bernama) -- K-Star Sports Ltd, the fourth company from
China to be listed on Malaysia Exchange (Bursa Malaysia), is offering 3.4
million shares to the Malaysian public.

The rest of the shares, totalling 11.9 million, under its initial public
offering (IPO) will be reserved for public placement.

The underwriting ceremony for the shares offered to the Malaysian public was
held here Tuesday involving Public Investment Bank Bhd as the adviser, managing
underwriter and placement agent, and JF Apex Securities Bhd and Mercury
Securities Sdn Bhd as the underwriters.

The sports footwear company expected to be listed on the Main Market of
Bursa Malaysia by the middle of 2010, K-Star said in a statement today.

K-Star generates over 700 designs annually and manufactures approximately
7.9 million pairs of sports footwear, out of which 4.3 million pairs are
distributed to its 769 retail outlets in the Chinese market.

In the statement, K-Star Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ding
Jianping said the company had successfully established brand presence outside
China and its proprietary brand and design had attracted many followers in the
mid to mid-low mass market.

"Currently, we have an established brand in China, Russia and Eastern
European countries. It is in our plans to offer our high quality branded
sportswear to more countries after the IPO," he said.

About 27 per cent of the funds raised from the IPO would be used for the
expansion of the company's production capacity, 15 per cent for expansion of
sales and marketing network, 14 per cent for enhancement of product design and
development capabilities, while the balance would be allocated for general
working capital, branding and advertising, and listing expenses.

Ding said K-Star planned to instal two additional production lines, giving
the company a total of six production lines and an increase of in-house
production capacity from four million pairs to approximately six million pairs
per annum.

The company was also looking into further establishing more distribution
networks around Eastern Europe and in China, and expedite its expansion of
sports apparels.

"The launch of sports apparels will definitely be a boost to the company's
profits and ultimately contribute significantly to the investors' turnover," he
said.

So far, three China-based companies have been listed on Bursa Malaysia. They
are Multi Sports Holdings Ltd, XiDeLang Holdings Ltd and Xingquan International
Sports Holdings Ltd which were listed last year.

-- BERNAMA



Delete & Prev | Delete & Next