Ordinary Papua New Guineans will be able to apply to purchase at least some of 97 million shares in PNG-based financial services company Kina Securities. The company has just launched its prospectus, ahead of an expected listing on both the Port Moresby and Australian stock exchanges on 30 July.

Kina Securities this week launched the prospectus for its initial public offering (IPO) of shares. The IPO will see around 60% of the company, which recently reached an agreement to acquire the PNG business of Malaysian bank Maybank, put up for sale to institutional and private investors.

A price of K2.08 per share has been announced.

If the share issue is fully subscribed at this price, this would raise K202 million, and value the merged Kina/Maybank entity at K341 million.

Capital use

Kina Group Chief Executive Officer Syd Yates told Business Advantage PNG this week that the money raised from Kina’s IPO will be used in part to fund its purchase of Maybank’s PNG operations, and also to reduce the shareholding of Kina’s current majority owner, the Hong Kong-incorporated Fu Shan Investment Limited, to around 35% of the company.

Capital raised will also go to fund future growth of the merged businesses.

Yates said the promotion of the capital raising was going well so far, with 55 meetings with potential investors conducted in a 10-day roadshow across the region.

‘We’ve talked to a lot of funds,’ he said. ‘In the process, we’ve gone about opening up PNG to investors.’

‘We hope for a pretty good mixture of local and international investors—from New Zealand, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Australia, as well as PNG.’

PNG superannuation companies Nambawan Super, Comrade Trustee Services and Nasfund have already agreed to subscribe to shares in the new entity.

For the Port Moresby Stock Exchange, Kina’s listing will be its first new listing since September 2013.

The offer is expected to open on 7 July and close for PNG resident investors on 10 July, and on 22 July for Australian residents.

Limited numbers of shares are also being made available at no cost to eligible Kina employees, under an Employee Gift Offer.