KARACHI:The first initial public offering (IPO) of the fiscal year 2023-24 by Symmetry Group Limited (SGL), received an overwhelming response on Tuesday despite a bearish trend in Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).
The SGL- a digital technology and experiences company- has offered 101.24 million shares in the market at the offer price of Rs.4.25 while it received over 106.794 bids at a price ranging between Rs.4.25 to 4.67 in the response on the first day of booking building.
Meanwhile, the bearish trend continued to dominate the market on the second consecutive day of the week as the KSE100 index fell to 47429.82 with a decrease of 956.43 points on Tuesday.
Under the IPO, two days, i.e. August 8 and 9, were reserved for book-building activity for institutional and high-net-worth individuals while August 17 and 18 were set to receive bids by retail investors.
The SGL had plans to raise a minimum of Rs. 430.27 million in equity including Rs.375 million through fresh issue and OFS value of Rs.55 million by selling 101.24 million shares to institutional and individual investors.
The offering is being conducted through a 100 percent book-building method, with a floor price of Rs.4.25 per share including a premium of Rs.3.25 per share.
Chief Executive Officer SGL Sarocsh Ahmed, earlier in an interview with reporter expressed hope that the book-building process would attract investors from a variety of backgrounds while it was also expected to attract foreign direct investment in Pakistan.
He informed that SGL intended to raise capital for developing and launching various digital intellectual properties (IPs) using in-house expertise and the funds generated would be strategically allocated towards the development of AI and data-powered marketing technology, tools, and platforms.
“Those IPs will provide SaaS platforms for consumer insights, visualisation of Key Performance Indicators, and other critical information to aid businesses in the decision-making process,” he added.
Sarocsh Ahmed informed that SGL had been granted approval for IPO by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) in June 2023. In his opinion, it was an appropriate time to launch an IPO as the stock market was performing well and bulls had emerged.
“As the first digital technology and experiences company to go public in Pakistan, we are thrilled and energised while our decision to go public and launch an Initial Public Offering (IPO) reflects our commitment to advancing Pakistan’s digital technology sector and contributing to the nation’s economic development, he maintained.
He was hopeful that additional equity would also support the expansion of the company’s international business, capitalising on opportunities in global markets.