KARACHI: As many as eight companies went public in 2021, which is the highest number of offerings in a year since 2015.

The newly listed firms raised Rs20 billion from the general public, according to a research note released by Topline Securities on Tuesday.

Six of these listings were on the main board of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) while two were on the Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) counter, which is reserved for smaller and riskier firms.

There were eight offerings in 2015, which raised a total of Rs116bn. The sum was unusually huge that year because of a secondary offering of Habib Bank Ltd shares by the federal government that alone generated Rs102bn.

Each of the eight offerings in the outgoing year received “immense enthusiasm” and was oversubscribed.

The brokerage said Octopus Digital Ltd has posted the highest return (46 per cent) among the eight listings so far. It was followed by Citi Pharma Ltd, which appreciated 5pc. On the other hand, the maiden listing on the GEM counter, Pak Agro Packaging Ltd, has posted a decline of 35pc. Panther Tyres Ltd has also posted a decline of 33pc.

“These offerings saw huge investor interest despite dull performance by the KSE-100 index, which saw a 2pc decline in rupee terms and 12pc in dollar terms in 2021 to date,” it added.

As for the outlook, the brokerage said the PSX will continue to see new offerings in 2022 if the macroeconomic situation stabilises following the resumption of the International Monetary Fund’s loan programme.

Published in Dawn, December 15th, 2021