99 Speedmart CEO Lee Thiam Wah Becomes Billionaire as His Mini Market Empire Goes Public Today

The stock market for the Malaysian mini market, 99 Speedmart opened this morning at RM1.85, 12.12% more than its initial public offering (IPO) price.

To those who are not aware, an IPO is when a private company sells shares of its stock for the first time to the public and becomes a public company, which makes it no longer under the ownership of the private owners, as explained on Investopedia.

99 Speedmart, which is headed by Lee Thiam Wah as CEO, was listed at RM1.65 and raised RM2.36 billion, making it the largest listing on the Bursa Malaysia stock market in the past 7 years, with a total of 1.428 billion shares publicly offered.

Lee Thiam Wah was minted a billionaire today (September 9) after 99 Speed Mart went public in KL.

As reported by Reuters and Bloomberg, in the 1st 5 minutes after its listing, 99 Speedmart’s share price fluctuated narrowly between RM1.85 and RM1.89. As of 9:05 AM, the stock price was reported at RM1.86, 21 sen or 12.73% more than its IPO price.

As of now, 99 Speedmart has more than 2,600 branches across Malaysia. The company plans to add 250 new stores every year and aims to achieve 3,000 stores by the end of 2025. 

According to 99 Speedmart’s website, Lee started by opening a sundry store called Pasar Raya Hiap Hoe in Tepi Sungai, Klang in 1987. It was initially Pasar Mini 99 before the name was rebranded to 99 Speedmart.

Congratulations to Lee Thiam Wah on the groundbreaking achievement!

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