Tycoon Lim Han Weng's HI Mobility Jumps Amid Booming Malaysia-Singapore Passenger Traffic
Shares of bus operator HI Mobility—controlled by Malaysian oil and gas tycoon Lim Han Weng—surged on its trading debut amid optimism passenger traffic between Singapore and Malaysia will increase with the establishment of a special economic zone near their border.
HI Mobility's Causeway Link is among the biggest bus operators shuttling passengers across the Singapore-Malaysia causeway, considered the world's busiest land border where more than 300,000 people pass through the two countries' immigration checkpoints daily.
The company raised 115.9 million ringgit ($26.3 million) from its IPO, comprising 95 million new shares (equivalent to about 19% of the company's enlarged issued shares) at 1.22 ringgit each. HI Mobility closed at 1.33 ringgit on its first trading day, up 9 % from its IPO price.
HI Mobility's revenue rose 73% to 207.7 million ringgit in 2024 from the previous year, with nearly half of the revenue coming from Singapore. The company operates 155 buses on the causeway, comprising about a quarter of the group's fleet. It also operates in Kuala Lumpur and the nearby states of Malacca and Selangor.
'The overarching more business-friendly policies under the special economic zone will create new and additional travel demand,' Lim Chern Chuen, executive director and CEO of HI Mobility, said via text message in response to Forbes Asia's queries.
Proceeds from the IPO will help fund the company's fleet expansion, comprising the purchase of 55 new buses, of which 10 will be electric buses, as well as buildout of the company's electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
HI Mobility is one of the businesses cofounded by Chern Chuen's parents—Lim Han Weng and wife Bah Kim Lian. The couple also cofounded Yinson Holdings in 1984 as a transport and trading business. It has since grown to become one of the world's largest oil and gas services companies. In 2020, it diversified into renewable energy and now has solar plants in India and Peru. With a net worth of $405 million, the family ranked no. 45 in Forbes Asia's list of Malaysia's richest that was published in April last year.
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