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(Bangkok - 3 December 2007) Asiasoft Corporation Public Company Limited has decided to postpone its I.P.O. (initial public offering) and will delay its listing on the Stock Exchange of Thailand until the first quarter of 2008, according to the company's CEO. The reason for the decision is to allow more time for the Thai economy and stock market to stabilize in order to determine an appropriate IPO price. The online game company's performance in the first nine months of the year have been impressive, already besting 2006 revenues and hitting its records of 16.9 percent net profit margin.
"Asiasoft and its financial advisor, DBS Vickers (Thailand) Co., Ltd. received strong interest and feedback from local and foreign institutional investors during our road show between November 22 - 28, 2007," said Pramoth Sudjitporn, CEO of Asiasoft Corporation Public Company Limited. " We were successful in positioning our company for what it is -- the leading online game operator in Southeast Asia with number one market share in Thailand and Singapore and number two in Malaysia and Vietnam (ranking by 2006 revenue from online game service)"
Demand during the book building process came at the low end of the price range due to the downward pressure from an unstable and uncertain investment market over the past two weeks, both domestic and global. Pricing under such conditions would result in an inaccurate IPO share price.
"Although the road show was successful, the unstable market situation due to various factors locally and globally including the upcoming election were causes for concerns and pricing," explained Mr. Surat Taesriprasert, Vice President of Investment Banking for DBS Vickers Securities (Thailand). "Coincidentally, the first day for trading Asiasoft shares on 14 December is also the day that the Supreme Administrative Court is expected to rule on the legality of PTT's privatization and offering, which could affect the public's perception of the stock market. We're confident that investors will give a warm response to Asiasoft's IPO in Q1 of 2008 once everything has settled down."
The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the applications of Asiasoft to sell IPO shares in the Thailand stock market since 30 November 2007.
In addition to its impressive nine month performance, total revenues for Asiasoft during the first three quarters of the year stood at 1,083.53 million baht, 377.38 million baht higher than the same period last year or a growth of 55 percent. Net profit stood at 183.04 million baht, an increase of 92.4 million baht or a growth of 102 percent from the same period last year. A large part of the growth was due to the success of numerous online game titles namely Maple Story, Yulgang, Audition and Cabal. Asiasoft also hit highest records of its Net profit Margin to reach 16.9 percent in the first nine months this year, already topped 11.9 percent in 2006 as a result of its lower variable costs, which enables the company's net profit margin to increase when total revenue exceeds its cost.
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About Asiasoft Corporation Public Co. Ltd.
Established in 2001, Asiasoft Corporation Public Company Limited, a leader in online entertainment provider in Southeast Asia, focuses on online gaming providing in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam. The company has affiliates which cover computer and online game development, online advertising and game portal service.
At present, Asiasoft provides 12 online games in 4 countries; Thailand (8 games), Singapore (4 games), Malaysia (4 games) and Vietnam (5 games) with more than 17.2 million registration-base gamers. Maple Story, Audition Dance Online, Yulgang, Ragnarok Online and Cabal are the most famous online games operated by Asiasoft.
