Taiwan-based Gourmet Master Co Ltd (美食達人), which runs the popular 85o Cafe chain, has set the price for its primary listing at NT$168 after a public subscription was warmly received by the market, underwriter Yuanta Securities (元大證券) said yesterday.
The stock is scheduled to make its debut on Taiwan’s stock exchange on Nov. 22.
The Cayman Islands-registered company offered 3.85 million shares for the public subscription, which ended on Friday, triple the previously planned 1.28 million shares because of investor enthusiasm, Yuanta Securities said.
According to the underwriter, the share sale was more than 200 times oversubscribed.
The NT$168 price set for the listing is also higher than the NT$158.00 target the company had tentatively proposed in its prospectus published last month. It is hoping to raise about NT$650 million (US$21.4 million) from the listing.
Gourmet Master operates coffee shops in Taiwan, China, Australia and the US, providing coffee, tea, cakes and bread. About 60 percent of its total revenue comes from China, where it has 150 outlets.
The company had net income of NT$758 million last year, up about 130 percent from 2008, according to the prospectus.
In the first three quarters of this year, Gourmet Master had net earnings of NT$634 million, equal to an earnings per share of NT$4.95, the underwriter said.
The company said it will use the proceeds from the listing primarily to expand its operations worldwide, including adding outlets and recruiting research and development staff and bakers.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
Arm Holdings PLC approached Intel Corp about potentially buying the ailing chipmaker’s product division, only to be told that the business is not for sale, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter. In the high-level inquiry, Arm did not express interest in Intel’s manufacturing operations, said the source, who asked not to be identified because the discussions were private. Intel has two main units: A product group that sells chips for personal computers, servers and networking equipment, and another that operates its factories. Representatives for Arm and Intel declined to comment. Intel, once the world’s largest chipmaker, has become the
Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) yesterday said that it signed an agreement with Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd to help build India’s first 12-inch chip manufacturing facility with a total investment of US$11 billion. As part of the agreement, Powerchip would provide Tata with access to mature technology nodes and help to train Indian workers, the Taiwanese company said in a statement. The fab would be located in Dholera, Gujarat. It would have a capacity of 50,000 wafers per month and create 20,000 jobs in the region, Powerchip said. Tata would receive access to a broad technology portfolio of leading-edge and mature nodes, including