CLIQ Energy Bhd, a special purpose acquisition company, today made its debut on Bursa Malaysia' main market at 58.5 sen, four
sen below its offer price of 62.5 sen.

At the opening bell, 214,620 shares were traded.

The retail offering of the shares, launched on March 22, was closed on March 29, with the shares oversubscribed by 7.3 times at the closing point.

The Initial Public Offering (IPO) raised a total of RM363,564,225.

Chairman and independent non-executive director Datuk Azmi Mohd Ali said CLIQ Energy is excited and motivated by what the future holds for the company following the success of the IPO exercise and is driven by the positive outlook for the Oil and Gas (OandG) sector.

He said the combined funds raised from the public subscription as well as the private placement are testament of the positive market and investor sentiment.

"We are geared for the next phase and we will be leveraging on our skills, expertise, extensive network and industry experience to capitalise on the opportunities available and to ultimately become a junior, independent, international OandG exploration and production (EandP) company," he said.

On the utilisation of the funds, Azmi said 10 per cent will be used for operating expenditures while the remaining 90 per cent will be placed in a trust account managed by Deutsche Trustees Malaysia Bhd.

CLIQ Energy, the second special purpose acquisition company listed in the local bourse after Hibiscus Petroleum, sees huge opportunities in the Asian and Oceana region, especially Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines and also some assets outside the Asian region.

Azmi said the proceeds would only be invested in securities issued by the Malaysian government, money market instruments and AAA-rated papers, prior to being utilised for acquisition of any Qualifying Asset (QA).

"As the exact size of our equity base has been finalised, we can now look to identifying and evaluating potential QA that meets the minimum projected Internal Rate of Return that the company has set," he said.

Azmi said the company intends to acquire oil and gas (OandG) assets, including small and medium oilfields with low to moderate risks, and the rights that allow it to take part in the development and production of these fields.

"We are looking to acquire production-ready and pre-development assets, not exploration assets, as they present higher risks," he said.

On outlook, he added the OandG company expects the industry to remain vibrant over the near to medium term given the region's significant demand growth due to its rapidly growing economies.-- Bernama