Condom maker Karex Bhd, which made an impressive debut on Bursa Malaysia today at RM2.34 for a 49-sen premium over its offer price of RM1.85, will invest RM100 million to double its production capacity to six billion pieces by end-2015 due to stiff demand.
Chief executive officer, Goh Miah Kiat, said the rising awareness on the importance of condom usage, coupled with the growing global population, will be the main reasons to spark condom demand going forward.
"Condom is the industry where demand keeps growing with a total of 22.8 billion pieces purchased last year. By 2016, it is expected to be 30 billion pieces.
"The demand is growing because of population. We are actually just filling up the demand," he told a media briefing after Karex's debut trading on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia today.
At the opening bell, some 4.4 million shares were traded.
He said to achieve the target, the world's largest condom maker company will be moving to a new and bigger factory in Pontian and expanding its manufacturing plants in Port Klang and Hat Yai, Thailand.
Goh said through the RM75 million proceeds raised from the listing, Karex will use about RM42 million as capital expenditure to develop the new factory.
"The construction of the new 7.28-hectare factory will begin by early next year and be completed by end-2014.
Karex's products are exported to over 110 countries.
Goh said the company will expand its own brand manufacturing.
"In South-East Asia, our brand is not very well-known in the market. We are present in Malaysia but on a very small scale, similar in Singapore. As for Thailand, we have not penetrated the marekt thus far.
"We have not initiated a big marketing programme yet. But this is one of the areas that we going to do after the listing," he said
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