Shares in the Warsaw Stock Exchange jumped by a fifth from the issue price on Tuesday at their market debut, in the last major initial public offering of a state-owned company this year. After an 18 percent jump at the market open, the price continued to rise, hitting as much as 53 zlotys and valuing the market operator at 2.2 billion zlotys ($777 million).
The IPO is part of the government's plan to raise about 25 billion zlotys this year from the sale of state assets in order to help Poland's troubled public finances. The issue has from the start drawn significant interest from investors, both financial institutions and individuals alike.
The treasury, which oversees state assets, raised the top of the price range for institutional investors by 3 zlotys to 46 zlotys thanks to high demand, while the number of individuals who subscribed reached an all-time high of 323,000. Poland hopes local investors will reap quick profits this time, unlike those who bought into the last major state company to be floated, utility Tauron, which fell on its first day of trade in June.
The Warsaw bourse IPO should help push Poland, the European Union's largest ex-communist economy, past its 25 billion zloty target for privatisation income this year, according to income data on the treasury's website. The exchange, which was housed for several years in the former communist party building when it was launched in 1991, initially listed just five companies. It currently lists 390 firms with a combined market capitalisation of nearly 800 billion zlotys.