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The subscription for initial public offering of United Bank Limited shares
will open on June 3, (Friday) which will remain open till June 8, 2005 during
banking hours. In order to create awareness regarding this offer Privatisation
Commission held road shows for IPO of UBL shares at Karachi, Peshawar,
Hyderabad, Lahore and Quetta. Next Road Show scheduled on June 2, 2005
(Thursday) at Forum Inn at 3 p.m, which will be chaired by Mr. Mehmood Shah,
PC Board member.
Continuing on the "Privatisation for the People" program of divestments shares
of United Bank Limited ('UBL') through Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad Stock
Exchanges and offer 10% shares to the general public with a green shoe option
of additional 5% shares. Privatisation Commission has appointed AKD Securities
(Pvt.) Limited as the Lead Manager for the IPO of ('UBL') after a thorough and
comprehensive pre-qualification process. Shares will be offered in lots of two
hundred (200) per applicant to pass on the benefit to a large section of the
general public. Road shows will be conducted in a number of cities for
informing the public and attracting maximum participation. The large quantity
of shares offered will also add to the liquid share float in the market and
add significantly to the investor base. The application forms can be
downloaded from PC web site:
www.privatisation.gov.pk or from the newspapers of June 3, 2005. The
Privatisation Commission is set to offer 10% (51.8 million) shares of United
Bank Limited ('UBL') (with a green shoe option of additional 5% shares) for
the benefit of 388,500 citizens. The offer is being made to the general public
at the rate of Rs.50/- per share. With a view to benefiting a larger cross
section of the general public, only 200 shares per applicant are being offered
requiring a total investment of Rs.10,000/- only. The Pakistani citizens,
both, resident as well as overseas have been advised, to get their
Computerized National Identity Cards (CNIC) and open their Bank and CDC
accounts to avoid any inconvenience while submitting their applications. The
Bankers to the offer have been issued instructions to guide and facilitate the
applicants in this regard. UBL, the third largest banks in Pakistan, was
privatized in October 2002 through a strategic sale in which 51% (264.18
million) shares were transferred along with management control. 25.5% (132.09
million) shares each were acquired by the Abu Dhabi Group and the Bestway
Group for a total price of Rs.12.3 billion. The Government currently holds 49%
of UBL's total 518 million issued shares. UBL is a highly profitable bank with
a good operational record. If the market response to the recent share
offerings of OGDCL, SSGC, PPL and KAPCO gives any indication, an offer of
shares of a bank like UBL would most likely receive a heavy response
from the general investors. The listing of UBL would increase market
capitalization significantly and would bring a worthwhile addition, rather a
leader, to the banking sector companies listed on the stock exchanges.