KUALA LUMPUR, UUE Holdings Bhd (UUE), which made a strong debut on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia today, is committed to expanding its marketing, products, and services in Singapore in the second half of this year. Executive director and chief financial officer Vincent Wong said the underground utilities engineering solutions company has been providing horizontal directional drilling (HDD) in Singapore. 'Additionally, we intend to include in our capital expenditure (capex) the purchase of a maxi rig, which we believe will help us explore and expand our services for subsea HDD solutions,' he told a press conference today after the company's listing ceremony. According to UUE's prospectus, the group is allocating RM15.75 million, representing about 52.6 per cent of the gross proceeds from its public issue, for the purchase of machinery and equipment -- three HDD machines, a maxi rig HDD machine, five excavators and lorries -- to supplement its existing machinery fleet. The company saw its share price ope n at 66 sen for a premium of 175 per cent, or 42 sen, over its offer price of 24 sen. At the opening bell, a total of 30.71 million shares were traded. Meanwhile, in a statement, chairman Lee Chye Tee said the company plans to acquire more machinery to expand its range of underground utility engineering solutions and the scale of its projects. 'This includes acquiring a maxi rig HDD machine to venture into subsea HDD works, thereby broadening our service offerings. To supplement our existing assets, we are leasing additional machinery, including HDD machines, excavators, and lorries. 'The demand for underground utilities engineering solutions is driven by Singapore's plans to increase its population to between 6.5 million and 6.9 million by 2030. We intend to leverage our track record and expertise to actively participate in tenders for electricity distribution projects in Singapore,' he added. The company's listed shares are classified as Shariah-compliant by the Shariah Advisory Council of the Securiti es Commission Malaysia. Source: BERNAMA News Agency