Dollar Store Jumps on Debut, Minting a New Malaysian Billionaire

Shares of discount-chain Eco-Shop Marketing Bhd. gained on their debut on Friday as Malaysia’s biggest initial public offering of the year created a billionaire.

The stock jumped as much as 10.6% in early trading, before paring its advance. Eco-Shop, which sells household items at a fixed price of 2.60 ringgit ($0.60), raised 974 million ringgit in an offering that valued the company at about $1.5 billion. That’s the most since an IPO by 99 Speed Mart Retail Holdings Bhd. in September.

Jessica Ng

Photographer: Samsul Said/Bloomberg

The time couldn’t have been better for Eco-Shop, according to Chief Executive Officer Jessica Ng. “If ...