ISLAMABAD, June 24: All the three stock exchanges of Pakistan have cleared the Initial Public Offer (IPO) for sale of 15 per cent shares of Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) held by the government.

Under the offer to be made next month, on offer for sale to the general public will be 10 per cent of the company's shares initially and additional five per cent shares under the green shoe option, according to an official press release.

Following approval by the bourses, an application has been filed by the Privatization Commission with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan for clearance of the proposed sale of PPL shares.

The official, however, did not mention the price at which the shares will be put on sale. He, however, stated that the applications would be invited in multiples of 500 shares.

As in the case of earlier IPOs of public sector units, preference will be given to the smallest applicants for 500 shares. Earlier, the public sector units whose shares were put on sale by the government on the stock market were: NBP, OGDCL, SSGC and PIAC. PPL is one of the largest companies in the oil and gas exploration sector and the owner of Sui Gas fields.

Road shows/marketing presentations of the IPO of PPL will be held in different cities including Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Hyderabad, Islamabad, etc. Similar road shows are being planned for overseas Pakistanis at Dubai and Bahrain.