KARACHI: A gong ceremony to mark the first listing of the year 2020 of The Organic Meat Company Limited (TOMCL) was held at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday.
The company has successfully listed on Pakistan Stock Exchange on August 3, 2020, after its Initial Public Offering (IPO) on July 14-16, 2020, was oversubscribed by 1.6 times. It is a significant and positive development for the capital market of Pakistan whereby a listing has taken place successfully in the challenging times of the coronavirus pandemic. The Organic Meat Company is involved in exporting and processing of Halal beef and mutton.
The gong striking event was attended by the COO of PSX, Nadir Rahman, the CEO of The Organic Meat Company Limited, Faisal Hussain, the CEO of Topline Securities (joint consultant to the issue), Mohammad Sohail, the CEO of Intermarket Securities Limited (joint consultant to the issue), Wajid Hussain, the CEO of AKD Securities Limited (book runner to the issue), Farid Alam, along with senior management and team members of these organizations. In the larger interest and safety of the public and to avoid large gatherings, the gong ceremony was streamed across all media channels virtually. The public offering of TOMCL has been a success story not only for the company itself but also for the Stock Exchange and the capital market of Pakistan. It is the first issue for the fiscal year 2020-21, and it attracted tremendous response from investors and other market participants. This reflects very well on the overall dynamism and strength of the capital market of the country.
The company was to raise Rs720 million through the IPO by issuing 40,000,000 ordinary shares. The book-building process took place with a floor price of Rs18/- per share (including a premium of Rs8/- per share) with a maximum price band of up to 40 percent or Rs25.20 per share. In the book building process, however, bids of close to Rs1.4 billion were received from qualified investors while the strike price was set at Rs20 per share. The issue was oversubscribed by 1.7 times with bids for 68.1 million shares received for the 40 million shares on offer in the book building. The bidding took place with participation by leading local and foreign investors.
The issue offered to retail investors resulted in total applications for 15.79 million shares amounting to Rs315.835 million being received from the general public. It is a significant occurrence that more than 60 percent of applications for the allotment of shares by the general public were received through the EIPO system of the Central Depository Company. The results from the book building and the general public subscription showed that the IPO was a resounding success for the company. The IPO took place through the implementation of the amended regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) for Public Offerings by companies. Amendments were made in the Public Offering Regulations, 2017, by the SECP whereby the eligibility criteria for the listing of companies were simplified, and the IPO process was made easier to attract new listings.
Farrukh H Khan, CEO of PSX, said, "We are very happy to welcome The Organic Meat Company Limited, after its successful public subscription, as the first company in the fiscal year 2020-21 to be listed on the Stock Exchange.
"The success of this IPO proves the strength and resilience of Pakistan's capital market despite the challenges created by the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent impact on the economy as a whole," he added.
Mohammad Sohail, CEO of Topline Securities (consultant to the issue), said that the Organic Meat offering got an excellent response in a challenging time. This proves that investor demand is always there in Pakistan for quality management and good corporate governance, he added.
Omar Salah Ahmed, Head of Corporate Finance and Advisory at Topline Securities, said, "It's exciting to see that during the pandemic, our investors have demonstrated a great interest in a phenomenal growth story. The entrepreneurial background and mindset of the TOMCL sponsors, Faisal Hussain and Ali Hussain, addressing the issues of the industry and translating into strong financial success, has created investor confidence in this offering."
Wajid Hussain, CEO of Intermarket Securities Limited (consultant to the issue), said, "We are very pleased with the success of TOMCL's initial Public Offering. The investors' participation through online IPO facility was also very encouraging and helped overcome challenges posed by the pandemic." He further stated, "It is a matter of pride for us to play our part in reviving the IPO market in Pakistan, and hope this will encourage more companies to seek listing."
Farid Alam, CEO of AKD Securities Limited, while speaking on the successful completion of the IPO, said that the TOMCL, one of the largest meat exporters of Pakistan, revitalizes interest in the food sector through its Initial Public Offering at the PSX. This will go a long way in reviving and generating response in the listing vertical - being the first IPO after a gap of over a year. The issue received positive response from both foreign and domestic financial institutions including high net-worth individuals, he said.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020