Robi Axiata surges 50% on market debut

Shares of Robi Axiata Ltd, the second-largest mobile phone operator in Bangladesh, have soared 50 percent on its much-anticipated debut on the capital market.

Share prices rose to Tk 15 from Tk 10 apiece, shortly after the stock started trading on the Dhaka bourse on Thursday.

The company is trading under 'N' category with the trading code ‘ROBI’. In September, Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission or BSEC gave regulatory approval to Robi to raise Tk 5.2 billion from the capital market through an initial public offering to expand its network.

Investors then applied in November before Robi held a lottery draw on Dec 10. Robi’s share was added to investors’ accounts on Dec 20.

Robi offloaded about 524 million shares or 10 percent of the company, priced at Tk 10 each. The company plans to expand its network with Tk 5.15 billion from the IPO. The remaining will be spent on IPO expenditures.

According to the 2019 Audited Financial Report, the company’s asset value was Tk 171.97 billion. It made a profit of Tk 169 million last year. Their asset value per share during this time was Tk 12.64 with a profit of Tk 0.4 for each share.