⁍ Shares in the Philippines’ second-largest IPO and Malaysia’s largest offering in more than three years had a mixed debut on Monday.

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⁍ Converge ICT Solutions Inc, a Philippine fibre broadband provider, fell as much as 11.2% and ended 9.4% lower.

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⁍ MR D.I.Y. Group Bhd, the Malaysian home improvement retailer, recovered to end the day 9.4% higher.

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– The Philippines’ second-largest initial public offering (IPO) and Malaysia’s largest offering in more than three years had a mixed debut on Monday, as analysts pointed to expansion concerns in pandemic-hit markets. Converge ICT Solutions Inc, a Philippine fibre broadband provider, fell as much as 11.2% and ended 9.4% lower, while shares in MR D.I.Y. Group Bhd, the Malaysian home improvement retailer, recovered to end the day 9.4% higher after briefly dropping as much as 6%, per Reuters. The Southeast Asian IPO market has been hit by underperforming stocks and currencies, but companies in the region have raised $7.1 billion so far this year, led by Thailand, up 21% from the same period a year ago, according to data from Refinitiv. April Lee Tan, head of research at COL Financial in Manila, flagged Converge’s offer price as expensive. “I like the growth story of the company, except the IPO price. They are vulnerable to missteps, like if the execution is not as good as expected,” she said. TA Securities’ consumer sector analyst Jeff Lye said MR D.I.Y. shares performed quite well amid domestic concerns about a rise in coronavirus cases and tighter movement restrictions. “If COVID-19 were to go out of control and they may be forced to close down or retail traffic in malls could decline substantially, that would hit their revenue,” he said.