KARACHI: The Air Link Initial Public Offer (IPO) is oversubscribed by 1.6 times as the company has raised Rs 6.43 billion, highest-ever IPO issued by private sector in Pakistan.

The Air Link Communication Limited received bids for 147.6 million shares against 90 million shares offered in two day book-building process that concluded on Tuesday. The strike price was Rs 71.5 per share against the offer price of Rs 65.0 per shares.

This was the highest ever IPO issued by the private sector in Pakistan – surpassing the Interpool which raised Rs 5.0 billion.

The interest shows that there is ample liquidity in the market and interest in new sectors, experts said.

Air Link Communication Limited is the leading and largest distributor of mobile phones in Pakistan with a nationwide network linked with 1,000 plus wholesalers and 4,000 plus retailers.

The Company aims to become the Country’s first fully vertically integrated mobile phone company and with that intention it has set up a state of the art mobile assembling facility with production capacity of more than 400,000 units per month.

The capital being raised through IPO will be utilized for working capital requirements which are estimated at Rs 4.9 billion.

Pakistan’s smart phone market has immense potential as he smart phone users as a percentage of total population is currently around 18 percent, experts said.

Pakistan mobile phone market is expected to transition from feature phones to smart phones as cellular mobile operators are likely to phase-out their 2G networks as 4G becomes more widely available and the proportion of low-cost smart phones increased, they added.

JS Global Capital was the consultant and book runner of this IPO of Air Link Communication.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021