Wai Wai Noodles, Nepal’s largest instant noodles brand, plans to float shares to the general public through its Initial Public Offering (IPO). Chaudhary Group (CG) Managing Director Nirvana Chaudhary shared that it will issue an IPO with the aim of making the public a shareholder.
This announcement closely aligns with CG’s chairman Binod Chaudhary who recently announced that the group will issue an IPO in India by 2026. That means Wai Wai Noodles plans to offer a slice of the ownership to the public in the next 2 years.
In India, CG Foods India Pvt. Ltd. will divest its shares in the quest to propel its already strong market presence. In India, CG Foods boasts a market presence of 28% and generates annual revenue of $130 million. But it faces market competition from Maggi and Yippee whose parent companies Nestle and ITC have already issued IPOs. That means CG will list its food unit in Nepal and India’s stock exchanges in the next couple of years. But for now, there’s not much details.
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CG Foods started its factory in 1984 in Kathmandu with technical support from a Thailand-based Preserved Food Factory. It has a 4% share of Varun Chaudhary, a 20% share of Apollo Investment Pvt. Ltd., and a 0.2% share of Rahul Chaudhary. Nirvana Chaudhary has the largest share in the company at 76%.
“Over the past five years, Wai Wai Noodles has become a popular brand in both the metros and tier-two cities. The brand is growing at 20% year-on-year,” GP Sah, Global Business Head of Nepal-based CG Foods, remarked recently. On the other hand, Wai Wai is Nepal’s number one instant noodles brand is a household name for decades.
The IPO will give Nepalese accountability and a sense of pride in being a shareowner of the country’s largest business house that has made its owner Binod Chaudhary Nepal’s only billionaire.
