Thousands queue for Bangladesh's largest IPO

The country's top mobile phone operator, Grameenphone, is raising US$70.4 million through the IPO sale of 69.44 million shares.

The company, 62-percent owned by Telenor of Norway, has raised the same amount from institutional investors. It says the money will be spent on network expansion and developing its information technology infrastructure.

The face value of the shares has been fixed at 10 taka (seven cents) with a 60 taka premium on each share. A private investor can buy a maximum lot of 200 shares.

Pensioners, students and workers converged on 500 bank branches nationwide to deposit money for the subscription, which closes on October 18.

“In the first two hours some 400 people have submitted applications,” said Saiful Islam, a manager of private Dutch Bangla Bank at the capital, Dhaka.

“My family is making five applications for a maximum 1,000 shares. It's a lifetime opportunity to be able to buy Grameenphone shares,” said Hanif Ahmed, a retired government official.

Grameenphone is 38-percent-owned by Grameen Telecom, a subsidiary of micro-finance giant Grameen Bank, which was set up by 2006 Nobel peace prize winner Muhammad Yunus.

It has around 21 million of Bangladesh's fast growing 46 million cellular subscriber base. It is also the country's largest private company in terms of revenue.

Securities and Exchange Commission chief Ziaul Haq Khandekar hailed the IPO as a “watershed event”, saying it would bring “depth and maturity” to the country's share market.

“The GP IPO will bring qualitative change to the market. I think the move will instill confidence in other major companies to follow suit. It will make the stock market more stable and the centre of our economic activity,” he said.

Dhaka Stock Exchange president Rakibur Rahman said Grameenphone's IPO was the largest in the country's history, dwarfing the previous record set by a private bank by more than four times.

The DSE, which hosts companies with a market capitalization of around US$15 billion, is a minor player compared to other Asian bourses.

Silmat Chisti, capital market head of issue manager Citigroup Global Market, an affiliate of Citibank, said trading of Grameenphone shares was expected to start by end of November.

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