June 26, 2002	Wednesday	Rabi-us-Sani 14, 1423

KARACHI, June 25: Sitara Chemical Industries Limited has received Rs224 million against the offer of Rs105 million worth of Term Finance Certificates (TFCs) to the public.

“The over-subscription by about twice the Initial Public Offering (IPO), reflects the trend of investors appetite for corporate debt instrument,” commented one analyst.

Sitara Chemical’s TFC of the size of Rs360 million with pre-IPO of Rs255 million and IPO of Rs105 million is the country’s first quoted private sector corporate bond, based on profit and loss sharing.

Around 22 TFCs have been floated by the corporate sector in the country’s debt market so far: five this year; 12 last year and ten during all of the five years before. But while all of those TFCs have offered a floating yield, the Sitara Chemical TFC is the first to be based on profit and loss sharing. Aggregate tenure of the TFC is five years; it has been rated AA- (double A minus) by credit rating agency, JCR-VIS. Brokerage, InvestCap and Saudi Pak Industrial and Agricultural Investment Company, are advisers to the issue and Meezan Bank is the Shariah adviser of the issue.