[KUALA LUMPUR] Semiconductor designer SkyeChip is considering an initial public offering (IPO) in Malaysia as early as the second half of this year, sources familiar with the matter said, riding on the country’s push to make its own chips.
The company, founded in 2019, is targeting a price that would value it at more than RM1 billion (S$302 million), the sources said, asking not to be named because they were not authorised to speak publicly.
The size and timing of the offering may change as deliberations are ongoing, the sources said. SkyeChip did not respond to a request for comment.
Malaysia, which packages about a 10th of the world’s semiconductors, last week inked a pact to pay SoftBank Group’s Arm Holdings US$250 million over 10 years for a slew of semiconductor-related licenses and know-how. The government plans to aid local companies to design their own chips and target semiconductor exports of RM1.2 trillion by 2030.
SkyeChip is set to benefit from Malaysia’s chip ambitions because of the firm’s technical expertise, Cheow Ming Liang, an analyst at Kuala Lumpur-based Kenanga Investment Bank, wrote in a report last week.
Malaysia was among the bright spots for stock deals in South-east Asia last year, with IPOs raising US$1.6 billion, the highest proceeds since 2017, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Sizeable Malaysian offerings expected this year include those of MMC Port Holdings and Sunway Healthcare. BLOOMBERG
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