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Published on September 29, 2007

Company shares at one point offered a handsome return of 87 per cent from its offering price when they were quoted at Bt5.80 apiece before weakening to close at Bt5.50.

TNDT, an engineering-safety inspector and provider of non-destructive testing services, floated 20 million shares through its IPO at a price of Bt3.10 apiece.

So far this year, seven companies have debuted on the Stock Exchange of Thailand and the Market for Alternative Investment. Ubis (Asia) stock is the second-best debut performer so far this year, with an 11.42-per-cent return on its first day of trading.

TNDT managing director Chomduen Satavuthi called the stock's share-price performance on its debut beyond her expectations.

The impressive debut can be ascribed to the low number of share allocations and the cheap offering price, she said.

Despite the stunning performance, she said the current share price was not expensive, as the company had earlier set an offering price of Bt5 or Bt6 a share, which was close to many brokers' estimates.

"We were concerned that our share price [on debut] would be hurt by the stock market's volatility, so we offered a 30-per-cent discount on the offering price," she said.

Chomduen said company revenue this year would likely beat its Bt200-million target if the government continued to support non-destructive-testing businesses.

There are only two operators in the industry, although domestic demand is relatively high, she said.

TNDT yesterday reported a second-quarter net profit of Bt8.22 million, down from Bt9.56 million in the same period last year. However, its first-half net profit increased to Bt14.78 million, from Bt14.1 million before.

One Asset Management managing director Somjin Sornpaisarn said the SME Venture Capital Fund, which his company manages, had invested in TNDT since last year.

The SME Venture Capital Fund bought 10 million shares of TNDT at Bt2.40 apiece.

"Demand in safety-oriented engineering work is relatively strong, and the company, which is specialised in this area, will gain competitiveness," he said.

Apart from TNDT, two other SME Venture Capital Fund investments - Wattyl Dimet and Builder Smart - will seek listings on the stock market this year.Syber Planet, another company held by the fund, will list next year.

 Siriporn Chanjindamanee

 The Nation