Glostrext eyes bigger footprint in Singapore

KUALA LUMPUR: Glostrext Bhd will focus on using proceeds from its listing exercise to expand its structural ground business division in Singapore over the next three years.

The geotechnical instrumentation and testing service provider currently has a presence in both Malaysia and Singapore.

Managing director Lee Sieng Kai said the group sees opportunities as global markets are moving towards automation.

“Both countries have moved from manual monitoring to live monitoring using automation,” he told reporters after its listing on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia yesterday.

“In Malaysia, we already provide this service through the WiNA platform.”

In Singapore, Glostrext offers pile test instrumentation and static load test services, while structural and ground instrumentation and monitoring services are mainly provided to customers in Malaysia.

Glostrext has more than 100 customers in service engagement in Malaysia, and some of its projects include the monitoring of the mass rapid transit (MRT) stations and tunnels, railway tracks and others.

The company made a strong debut on Bursa Malaysia yesterday, opening at 65 sen per share, a 242% premium over its initial public offering (IPO) price of 19 sen. Profit taking, however, saw it edge lower and close at 25.5 sen, up 6.5 sen for the day.

Lee said RM11.7mil or 58.2% of the RM20.1mil raised from the listing exercise, will go towards its expansion plans for Singapore and for working capital.

“Our goal is to widen our offerings in Singapore. Part of the costs will involve setting up the platform in Singapore, as well as buying more equipment and hiring more engineers,” he explained.

Lee said that currently, the group has about 60 engineers across both countries, with more than 30 in Malaysia and the remainder in Singapore.

He added that the group would look to adding two more engineers and three technicians as they move forward in Singapore.

“We are a homegrown company, so our first priority in hiring will be Malaysians, as you can tell from the staff we have in Johor Baru and Singapore right now.”

“We will be engaging engineers to conduct research and development that is industry-specific. Sooner or later, the industry will demand this kind of precise and transparent reading, and we want to leverage that,” Lee said.