Emperador Inc., a leading global spirits firm controlled by tycoon Dr. Andrew Tan, saw it share prices rise in both Singapore and the Philippines after the listing of its shares in the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (SGX-ST).
The firm’s listing at the SGX-ST’s Main Board is part of its ambitious plans for future international growth since the Singapore bourse has a much wider and more global investor base.
“This listing is truly a milestone for Emperador and it reinforces the globalization of Emperador,” said Tan who built the Philippine firm into the world’s biggest brandy producer and ramped up its globalization with the acquisition of Spain’s Bodegas Fundador and Whyte & Mackay with its crown jewel The Dalmore Whisky.
Emperador is the first Philippine Stock Exchange-primary listed company to conduct a secondary listing on the SGX-ST. On the other hand, Del Monte Pacific Limited is the first Philippine firm to be listed in Singapore that is now also listed at the PSE.
SGX Group Chief Executive Loh Boon Chye said that “Emperador’s listing in Singapore marks a key milestone as you scale up and expand your footprint into new markets. It also broadens the opportunities for international investors to participate in the growth of the region through your global position.”
“SGX Group’s international platform provides an excellent springboard for Emperador to further raise its profile and capture new growth opportunities,” SGX Group Senior Managing Director and Global Sales & Origination Head Pol de Win added.
Emperador Director Kevin Tan noted that “This platform allows us now to be known globally. And, of course, it allows us to continue our growth globally, as well.”
On the possibility of acquiring more foreign spirits companies, he said that, “We do have our eyes set already on certain things. Now, obviously, Asia, China is a very big market for us. And of course, we know we do want to complete our portfolios of other categories.”
“The secondary listing of Emperador on the SGX-ST today marks the start of the next chapter in our growth,” said Emperador Whisky Business Head and Whyte & Mackay Chief Executive Officer Bryan Donaghey.
He added that, “This secondary listing leverages Singapore’s position as a global financial hub and will ensure we are well-positioned to broaden our access to the international investment community in the future.”
“We are proud to have built a leading global spirits company, and we are committed to be a driving force in brandy and whisky. Our global business continues to deliver sustained growth and we aim to generate 50 percent of our sales from outside the Philippines by 2025,” said Donaghey.
Emperador’s five-year target is to double its single malt whisky sales volume by 2025. Donaghey noted that their business is growing globally with the US and China markets among the fastest growing as a result of higher consumption as well as premiumization.
“There's a bit of a trend to people consuming less alcohol, but consuming better alcohol; you've got a growing middle class, you have more income to do that, in many parts of the world. So there's a lot of favorable trends behind single malt,” Donaghey said.
He revealed that their whisky sales have seen strong growth in Asia noting that, “From last five years, we've probably increased our Asia Pacific Business by multiple of 10.”
A lot of this growth is in Greater China and is expected to continue to grow. “China is one of our target markets alongside the US. But I expect to grow in Europe as well. And I expect to grow in Canada, and I expect to grow around the world.”
“We're in a lot of countries, but we're still small. We just got more distribution. In the US, you might think of it as a mature market, but we're still very small within that market. And we've got huge room to grow. So, we we've got lots of room to grow in every market,” Donaghey said.