RESEARCH HOUSE SEES POSSIBILITY OF KEYFIELD GOING INTO SHIPBUILDING

KUALA LUMPUR, April 3 (Bernama) -- Keyfield International Bhd (Keyfield) may enter into shipbuilding contracts with suitable shipyards to build new accommodation vessels, apart from acquiring completed vessels that are available in the market, according to Public Investment Bank (Public IB) in an initial public offering (IPO) note on the company.

The research house said the shipbuilding contracts allow for vessels with specific features tailored to charterers' needs, such as hybrid engines, higher capacity main cranes, more accommodation rooms, and environmentally friendly designs.

It noted that Keyfield expects to acquire a newly built accommodation vessel over the next two years upon listing.

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Keyfield, which is involved in chartering accommodation vessels, is looking to raise about RM188 million from its IPO via the issuance of 209 million new ordinary shares at an issue price of 90 sen per share.

The group is scheduled to be listed on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia on April 22, 2024 and under the IPO listing, the group’s market capitalisation is RM720 million.

As of Feb 29, 2024, Keyfield owns 11 accommodation vessels, of which eight are accommodation work boats (AWBs), two are smaller accommodation vessels and one is an accommodation work barge.

The group primarily charters accommodation vessels for the upstream oil and gas (O&G) industry, serving customers such as Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) Carigali S/B (PCSB), petroleum arrangement contractors (PACs), O&G contractors and offshore support vessel owners.

For the industry outlook, Public IB the AWB chartering market size in Malaysia is forecast to register a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.0 per cent between 2024 and 2026.

-- BERNAMA