\n
![](\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/GettyImages-2170285651.jpg?w=2048\")
<\/p>\n [ad_1]
\n<\/p>\n
Lee Thiam Wah\u2019s first retail venture was selling snacks from a roadside stall in Malaysia. Several decades later, the entrepreneur has transformed that humble beginning into a sprawling retail empire of more than 2,600 convenience stores across the nation.<\/p>\n
Today, the 60-year-old was minted as a billionaire after his company 99 Speed Mart Retail Holdings Bhd went public in Kuala Lumpur.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The $531 million initial public offering is Malaysia\u2019s largest in seven years. At the IPO price of 1.65 ringgit ($0.38) per share, Lee\u2019s fortune is about $3.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The stock rose as much as 15% on Monday. \u00a0<\/p>\n
The listing cements Kuala Lumpur as the busiest location for market debuts in Southeast Asia this year and shows investor optimism in the nation\u2019s growth potential. The firm\u2019s shares are seen as a way to build exposure to the\u00a0consumer sector<\/a>\u00a0in an economy that\u2019s projected to expand as much as 5% this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt comes at a crucial moment for both Malaysia\u2019s IPO landscape and Southeast Asia\u2019s capital markets,\u201d said Mohit Mirpuri, a senior partner and fund manager at Singapore-based SGMC Capital Pte Ltd. \u201cThis could boost market sentiment and position Malaysia as a key player,\u201d in regional listings, he said.<\/p>\n Lee was born in 1964 in Klang, one of several cities littering the stretch between Kuala Lumpur and the shores of the Malacca Strait. His father, a construction worker, and his mother, a hawker, had 11 children and could only afford to send Lee to school for six years.\u00a0<\/p>\n His first retail venture\u2014that roadside stall\u2014was born of necessity. As a child he contracted polio and permanently lost the use of his legs.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNobody would hire me due to my physical limitation,\u201d he told Forbes in 2012. \u201cI have to help myself.\u201d<\/p>\n Lee opened a grocery shop in 1987 and a decade later he was running eight stores under the name Pasar Mini 99, where his wife, Ng Lee Tieng, 44, started her career as a purchasing executive in 1997. Until the IPO, the couple were the company\u2019s sole owners. \u00a0<\/p>\n Today, the chain is the largest of its kind in Malaysia, holding a 40% share in the mini-market segment and nearly 12% among all grocery retailers, according to the IPO prospectus.<\/p>\n Lee\u2019s \u201cjourney is an inspiring example for small business owners, showing that with determination, perseverance and a customer-focused approach, it\u2019s possible to scale a business, even from humble beginnings,\u201d said SGMC\u2019s Mirpuri.<\/p>\n Lee will remain as the company\u2019s chief executive officer. The 99 Speed Mart chain forms the bulk of his net worth, along with cash collected from dividends and the share sale.\u00a0<\/p>\n He also holds stakes in multiple closely held businesses, including the sole Malaysian franchisor of Burger King restaurants. Last year he also briefly emerged as one of the biggest individual shareholders in Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd. with a roughly 5% stake, regulatory filings show.<\/p>\n As the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index equities benchmark heads to its best year since 2010, listings are back after years of lackluster growth. \u00a0<\/p>\n 99 Speed Mart\u2019s listing attracted 14 cornerstone investors that included abrdn Asia Ltd. and UOB Asset Management (Malaysia).\u00a0<\/p>\n About 28% of the proceeds from the IPO will go to the company, which plans to setup new outlets and distribution centers, purchase delivery trucks and repay loans, according to the prospectus. The company posted a profit after tax of 133.2 million ringgit on revenue of 2.4 billion ringgit for the first three months of 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n The mini-mart operator\u2019s tagline \u2018Near n\u2019 Save\u2019 is part of a business model that emphasizes convenience and easy access for consumers, said Arun George, an analyst at Global Equity Research who publishes on the platform Smartkarma.\u00a0<\/p>\n The scale of the firm\u2019s operations create a barrier to entry and expansion for other mini-market players in Malaysia, \u201chindering their ability to compete effectively\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\nLittle shop empire<\/h2>\n
Bullish market \u00a0\u00a0<\/h2>\n
Recommended reading:<\/strong>
In our new special issue, a Wall Street legend gets a radical makeover, a tale of crypto iniquity, misbehaving poultry royalty, and more.
Read the stories.<\/a> <\/div>\n