KARACHI: A gong ceremony was held at Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday to celebrate the listing of Mughal Energy Limited (MEL) on its Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) Board.

Mughal Energy is the fourth listing on the GEM Board of PSX since the Board was launched in 2020. The GEM Board is a listing platform to facilitate capital raising needs and listing of Small, Medium or Greenfield businesses on the Stock Exchange.

Present at the gong ceremony were Jamshed Iqbal, Executive Director and senior management of Mughal Energy Limited. Also present at the ceremony were Aftab Ahmad Chaudhry, CEO, and senior management of LSE Capital Limited.

LSE Capital was the Advisor to the Issue. The guests were welcomed by Farrukh H Khan, MD and CEO and senior management of PSX. A video message by Akif Saeed, Chairman SECP, congratulating the stakeholders involved on MEL GEM Board listing, was also played at the event.

The Issue of Mughal Energy Limited consisted of Initial Offering of ordinary shares to accredited investors on the GEM Board of PSX. The total Issue size was 19,411,000 shares or 10% of post-issue paid-up capital. The entire Issue was offered through fixed price mechanism at an Issue price of Rs16.74 per share (including premium of Rs6.74 per share). The total amount to be raised through the Issue was Rs324,940,140.

The main purpose of the Issue was to raise capital for repayment of sponsors’ loan, meeting the working capital needs of the company and to prepare the company for listing on the Main Board of PSX in the near future. The subscription of shares of MEL took place on June 03 and June 04, 2024.

The subscription of shares in the Initial Offering of Mughal Energy Limited resulted in a total demand for 19,742,374 shares amounting to Rs330,487,372 against the Issue size of 19,411,000 shares amounting to Rs324,940,140; thereby, the Offer was oversubscribed by 1.7X. All 55 applications from various investors were successful.

Speaking at the occasion, Farrukh Khan, MD and CEO PSX, stated, “PSX wholeheartedly welcomes Mughal Energy Limited as the fourth equity listing on its GEM Board. The successful Initial Offering of Mughal Energy and its listings an extremely positive sign proving that the GEM Board is a cost efficient and appropriate platform to raise capital by Greenfield projects, growth enterprises and SMEs. The GEM Board is an innovative and progressive platform evolving solutions in line with the changing economic and regulatory landscape and in tune with the needs of the growth enterprises or Greenfield projects”.

He said PSX, as a frontline regulator, is a willing partner ready to support and encourage eligible companies, work with them, and bring them on the GEM or Main Board of the Exchange. With digitisation of the listing process through PRIDE whereby the submission of all listing documents is fully automated which compares very well with international standards, and provision of robust, transparent and efficient systems and processes, PSX is the perfect platform to raise capital feasibly.

It is a viable alternative to high cost bank borrowing, whether raising capital against equity or debt. Congratulations to Mughal Energy and LSE Capital as well as thanks to the business development and listing teams at PSX and the support extended by SECP for the materialization of this listing, he added.

Speaking about the GEM Board listing of MEL, Khurram Javaid, CEO of Mughal Energy Limited, stated, “We are delighted to join the ranks of esteemed companies listed on the GEM counter of Pakistan Stock Exchange. This is a significant milestone for Mughal Energy Limited, reflecting our unwavering commitment to excellence, innovation, and growth.

The listing will not only enhance our visibility and credibility but also provide us with a solid foundation to achieve our strategic objectives. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to PSX and LSE Capital for their unwavering support throughout this process. Together, we look forward to a prosperous future, creating value for our shareholders, customers, and stakeholders”.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024