By: Derek Lim Price: S$1.38 (Maximum) Placement: 213,750,000 Public: 11,250,000 Date of Offer: 3 July 2007, 9:00am Closing: 9 July 2007, 12:00am Commence Trading: 11 July 2007, 9:00am Underwriter: JPMorgan Source: Yahoo News (Reuters) Financial One to raise $169 mln in Singapore IPO "(Adds detail, background) SINGAPORE, July 4 (Reuters) - Taiwan's Financial One Corp., which lends to small businesses, is expected to raise US$169 million after pricing its initial public offering at the lower end of an indicative range, a source said on Wednesday. The company, which has the biggest share of Taiwan's leasing market, plans to sell 225 million shares, or 27.5 percent of its enlarged share capital, valuing the company at $616 million. The IPO was priced at $0.75 a share, at the lower end of the indicative price of $0.75-$0.90, a source told Reuters. The source said the price-to-book ratio for Financial One based on 2006 earnings would be 1.6 times at the IPO price. Singapore's Hong Leong Finance , which also lends to smaller businesses, is trading at 1.3 times price-to-book. ADVERTISEMENT The proceeds will be used to expand the company's operations in Asia and the United States, according to its prospectus. JPMorgan is the lead manager and underwriter for the IPO. The company's executive chairman and chief executive Andre Koo is the son of Jeffrey Koo, chairman of Taiwan's Chinatrust Financial Holdings , Taiwan's top credit-card issuer. Chinatrust is facing an investigation by financial regulators over irregularities in the stake purchase of its rival Mega Financial . In the midst of the probe, Jeffrey Koo Jr., vice chairman of Chinatrust and another son of Jeffrey Koo, resigned and fled the island. The three substantial shareholders in Financial One -- Andre Koo, his father Jeffrey Koo and Kenneth C.M. Lo -- will retain a 65.7 percent stake in the listed firm. Established in 1977, the firm operates in Taiwan, the United States, Thailand, China and Vietnam, but last year 70 percent of its operating income came from Taiwan. The offer comprised 150 million new shares and 75 million existing shares. Its shares will start trading on the Singapore Exchange on July 11." The news above reflects badly on the company management. I agree with Kleer that a company with poor management is always risky. Click here for the full prospectus.