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Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh Federal Minister for Privatisation & Investment
will inaugurate the first roadshow for the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of
United Bank Limited (UBL) shares at Pearl Continental Hotel, Karachi on
Saturday May 28, 2005 at 7 p.m. Mr. M. Tahsin Khan Iqbal Secretary
Privatisation Commission, PC Board members Mr. Moin Fudda and Mr. Shakiel Lari
will also address the occasion.
The series of road shows will be followed at Peshawar, Hyderabad, Islamabad,
Quetta, Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Multan and Sukkur, which will
also be participated by PC Board members Mr. Kamal ud Din, Syed Mehmood Nawaz
Shah, Mr. Iftikhar ul-Haq and the Director General PC (Banking) from May 30 to
June 4, 2005.
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. 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.