Oceanus Group Ltd (歐聖集團), the world’s largest operator of abalone farms, plans to buy two companies this year to expand its food business and sell shares of its restaurant unit as early as 2012.
Oceanus may buy a Taiwanese food-packager by the middle of this year and an Australian company later in the year to boost its supply of wild abalone, chairman Ng Cher Yew (黃子耀) said.
Ah Yat Abalone Group (阿一鮑魚), its chain of restaurants, will sell shares in Taiwan or Hong Kong, he said.
Oceanus stock rose by the daily limit in Taipei yesterday.
The company hopes to ride on China’s growing consumer market as the central bank estimates the economy will grow 9 percent this year.
“We want to see how we can basically acquire at least one Taiwanese packaging and processing entity and look at the Chinese market,” Ng, 50, said in an interview in Taipei on Friday.
The Taiwan listing “gives us a better profile with the government and an image in the market that will help the business,” Ng said.
The company is based in Singapore, while its operations are mainly in China, where 137.9 million abalone are grown in 24,000 tanks along the country’s southern coast.
Oceanus stock surged by the 7 percent daily limit to NT$12.30 in Taipei trading as of 1:20pm, increasing the advance to 29 percent since the Taiwan depositary receipts were sold at NT$9.5 apiece last month.
The benchmark TAIEX has added 2.8 percent since then.
The shares in Singapore were unchanged in Singapore, still down 7.7 percent since the Taipei listing.
Oceanus has 20 restaurants in markets including Singapore and China, Ah Yat’s Web site said.
The company aims to expand to 170 next year, with at least 120 in China, Ng said.
The restaurant business may be worth as much as 2 billion yuan (US$293 million) in two years, said Jeffrey Lau, an analyst at Polaris Capital (Asia) Ltd (寶來資本亞洲) in Hong Kong.
“It will be positive for Oceanus, as investors are in favor of Chinese catering companies,” Lau said.
Oceanus is considering the listing in Hong Kong or Taiwan because of demand for abalone from consumers in the two markets, Ng said.
The restaurant chain, which is not profitable yet, may turn profitable by the end of the year, said Ng, declining to say how much the chain is making now.
“The restaurant has a different risk profile, so eventually if it’s independent, it makes more sense,” Ng said.
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