Hotai Finance Co (和潤企業) plans to issue 140 million new shares in an initial public offering (IPO) on the local main bourse scheduled for Dec. 9 as it looks to raise new capital for business expansion.
Before the listing, the company allocated about 126 million new shares to be sold via a sealed bid auction and public subscription arranged by underwriters led by Taishin Securities Co (台新證券), the vehicle loan and insurance service unit of Hotai Motor Co (和泰汽車) said on Monday.
About 101.08 million shares are to be sold via the auction over three days through today, with a floor price of NT$45.69, while those for the public subscription would have a floor price of NT$53, it said.
The company expects the listing to help expand its business scope to loans for commercial vehicles, motorcycles, machine tools, construction equipment and medical devices, from its vehicle loan business at home and in China.
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Hotai Finance president Lin Yen-liang (林彥良) on Wednesday last week told investors that the company was upbeat about the loan business for commercial vehicles, such as heavy trucks and motorcycles, citing brisk vehicle sales.
Commercial vehicle loans are forecast to reach NT$10 billion (US$327.87 million) per year based on annual sales of 25,000 vehicles, Hotai Finance said.
Motorcycle loans are also expected to reach NT$10 billion per year, with annual vehicle sales of 75,000 units, it said.
In the first three quarters of this year, the company reported NT$69.9 billion of auto loans, up 3.4 percent from NT$67.6 billion in the same period last year.
Auto loans last year grew 13.4 percent to NT$92.1 billion, from NT$81.2 billion in 2017, the company said.
Hotai Finance, which is 66 percent owned by Hotai Motor, reported that net profit in the first three quarters surged 32 percent annually to NT$1.82 billion, from NT$1.38 billion a year earlier.
Earnings per share rose from NT$3.5 to NT$4.55.
The company said it aims to leverage Hotai Motor’s strong market position to boost its auto loans.
Hotai Motor, which sells Toyota and Lexus brand vehicles in Taiwan, seized a 32 percent share of the local auto market in the first three quarters, Hotai Finance said.
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