Mewah Group, a palm oil firm with refineries in Malaysia, is planning to raise as much as US$500 million ($696 million) in a Singapore initial public offering for expansion, two sources involved in the IPO said on Monday.

The planned listing, which will result in new investors owning 12-20% of Mewah's enlarged share capital, is scheduled for the fourth quarter of this year, the sources told Reuters. 

 

Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX) and BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA) are managing the offer, they said. 

 

Credit Suisse and Mewah declined comment, while BNP Paribas could not immediately be reached for comment. 

 

Mewah, whose main shareholders are Singaporean, owns three palm oil refineries in Malaysia and produces vegetable oil products include cooking oil, margarine and specialty fats used in ice cream, according to its website (www.mewahgroup.com). 

 

The firm also has several sister firms in Singapore whose activities range from marketing Mewah products to providing transport and warehousing services. 

 

“The group has approximately US$2 billion turnover (and) the refineries have a combined output of about 2.5 million tons per annum," a source familiar with Mewah said. 

 

Mewah preferred to be described as a "Singapore-based group with refineries in Malaysia" rather than as a Malaysian firm, he added. 

 

Palm oil traders Reuters spoke to said Mewah was a major seller of palm oil products to Pakistan, Iran, Bangladesh and India. 

 

The firm did not own plantations and got its feedstock came from both Malaysia and Indonesia, they added.