KUALA LUMPUR: Aquawalk Group Bhd, the developer and operator of Aquaria KLCC, seeks to raise up to RM114.3 million via ACE Market initial public offering (IPO) to fund expansion and upgrades across its regional aquarium network.
CEO Daryl Foong Chuen Hoe said the majority of the proceeds from the public issue are earmarked for financing the group’s capital expenditures to upgrade and develop new and existing attractions (78.6%).
“This capital expenditure we intend to use for the upgrading and development of new attractions for Aquaria KLCC and Aquaria Phuket, as well as the construction of two new aquariums. One in East Malaysia and one in Java, Indonesia. We intend to utilise all this within 48 months,“ he said at the prospectus launch today.
Aquawalk plans to spend RM12.2 million between 2025 and 2027 to upgrade and develop new attractions at Aquaria KLCC, including a new penguin tank. It will also allocate RM20.7 million for new attractions at Aquaria Phuket between 2026 and 2027.
Meanwhile, RM39.6 million will be channelled towards the construction of a new aquarium in Kota Kinabalu between 2026 and 2028, and RM17.3 million for another in Java, Indonesia, targeted for 2026. The rest of the proceeds are earmarked for IT improvements (2.6%), working capital (12.7%) and listing expenses (6.1%).
Aquaria KLCC recorded 1.29 million visitors in 2024, while its Jakarta Aquarium and Aquaria Phuket welcomed 530,000 and 290,000 visitors respectively.
Foong is confident that Aquawalk’s business momentum in terms of visitor numbers, revenue, and regional footprint will keep expanding in the coming years.
“We expect our growth to continue. The expansion of tourism, improved accessibility, and the rise of free independent travellers as well as group tours across the region have increased significantly both in areas where we currently operate and those we plan to enter. We are very optimistic about our tourism prospects going forward,” he said.
Foong added that Aquawalk has been operating for over two decades supported by a strong management team and extensive regional experience.
“We are in an industry with high barriers to entry, but we’ve adapted and built a comprehensive ecosystem that covers everything from aquarium design and construction to operations and knowledge transfer. “We have solid growth prospects and play a key role in tourism across the Asean region, leading in ESG, marine conservation and education.”
In the IPO, the group will undertake a public issue of 368.6 million new ordinary shares and an offer for sale of 368.6 million existing shares, representing a total of 40% of the enlarged issued share capital upon listing.
At the IPO price of 31 sen per share, Aquawalk Group would have a market capitalisation of RM571.3 million based on total enlarged share capital of 1,843 billion shares upon listing.
M&A Securities Sdn Bhd is the adviser, sponsor, managing underwriter, joint underwriter and joint placement agent while CGS International Securities Malaysia is the joint underwriter and joint placement agent for the IPO.
