Armarda Group

Armarda Group: Proposed private placement of 577m shares at an issue price of 1.145¢ apiece (5% discount to last close) to seven individuals, mostly residing in China and Hong Kong. Net proceeds of $6.3m will be used to finance business opportunities including acquisitions (52%) and working capital (48%). Notably, one of the individuals, Lam Cho Ying Terence Joe, was previously a director of Value Convergence Holdings in Hong Kong, as well as the President of Yuanta Securities in Hong Kong. In addition, we highlight the participation by another individual, Pek Seck Wei, a general manager of Industrial Engineering Systems, which is a subsidiary of SGX-listed Annica Holdings Ltd. Subjected to the listing approval by SGX, this would be Armarda's fourth placement in the past 24 months, as well as the participation by several familiar names. The core business of the S-chip company includes IT and professional services that serves the financial industry in China, with principle operations in Hong Kong, Beijing and Zhuhai. In FY2013, the group acquired a 45% stake in China Satellite Mobile Communications Group Limited, a company which provides mobile satellite services in China. Armarda expects the new segment to turn into one of the most promising business units of the group in future.