Applications for Beximco sukuk exceed 56pc of public offering

Investors have applied for Tk 4.22 billion worth of Beximco Limited’s sukuk, a Shariah-compliant debt instrument, through the company’s initial public offering.

Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission had approved as much as Tk 7.5 billion of the Tk 30 billon sukuk for current shareholders, another Tk 7.5 billion for IPO and the rest for private sale.

The application submission began on Aug 16 and the deadline was extended twice to Sept 30 as the bond failed to draw sufficient investments. Now the fears over the possible cancellation of the sukuk are gone with the applications.

The authorities were yet to accumulate the number of general investors who applied for the bonds as data are not available yet from all the banks, said M Shaifur Rahman Mazumdar, the spokesman for Dhaka Stock Exchange.

“According to the information we have, applications worth roughly Tk 4.22 billion or 56.27 per cent of the IPO have been submitted.”

As many as 82 institutional investors have applied for nearly Tk 606.5 million sukuk, or 8.86 per cent of the IPO. The rest, 47.41 per cent, are general investors.

Until the first deadline of Aug 23, the number of institutional investors interested in the bond was 71. During the extensions, only 10 more institutional investors applied for the bond.

The IPO rules stipulate a bond must draw at least 30 per cent of the applications from investors. It is not applicable for the rest of the investment.

The biggest offer by any private company in Bangladesh, the sukuk bond will be secured, convertible or redeemable asset-backed green-sukuk with a five-year term.

Investors can turn their bond into shares, or take profit annually and draw the face value in the end, according to officials, reports bdnews24.com.