Main Market Debutant Pantech Global Eyes Expansion In North Africa, South America

KUALA LUMPUR, March 3 (Bernama) -- Pantech Global Bhd is accelerating its international expansion, targeting high-growth markets in North Africa and South America after listing on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia today.

Its group managing director Adrian Tan said that while the company already has a presence in Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia, it sees untapped potential in the region and hence plans to exhibit in Brazil later this year to attract customers from Argentina, Chile, and beyond.

“The second region we are expanding into is the Middle East. We have not been very strong in this market because, in the past, we had an exclusive agent who extensively imitated our brand. While the partnership was meant to complement our business, they ended up copying our brand instead

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“This is not how we want our business to grow. As a result, we have discontinued that partnership and appointed a new agent to market our products in the region. Additionally, we plan to exhibit in Egypt to strengthen our presence in the North African market,” he told reporters after the listing ceremony today.

At 9 am, the manufacturer and exporter of butt weld fittings and stainless steel pipes company opened at 46.5 sen, a 21.5 sen discount from its initial public offering (IPO) price of 68 sen, with 31.83 million shares traded.

Tan noted that the company is expanding its market share in the European Union (EU).

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"We are currently selling in about six or seven countries, but the EU is vast with many markets to explore. We have not covered all of them yet, but we are gradually expanding.

“I can confirm that this year, in Europe, we have increased our market share to nearly 20 per cent," he said.

Commenting on the debut discount, Tan attributed the decline to global market conditions, particularly in the United States (US). However, he emphasised that the company's fundamentals remain strong and that it will continue focusing on profitability to demonstrate resilience to investors.

“The US has introduced many new policies, and everyone has to adapt.  So, we will follow accordingly because our business is export-based.

"About 40 per cent of our business is in the US, but I do not foresee any issues at the moment, as we can still sell what we are producing, provided the tariffs imposed apply to everyone,” he added.

-- BERNAMA