PKO BP is economic barometer says Minister
Treasury Minister Jacek Socha was in a buoyant mood following the issue on Wednesday last week. "This means that the strength of the Polish market is larger than it seemed and that it is possible to carry out large privatizations via the stock exchange.
"PKO BP's debut shows that the market is absorptive. Today's price shows that the bank is good and there is no reason for the price to decline," said Socha.
Dealers recorded 1.4 billion transactions within the first hour of trade and the price soared 17.1 percent from its issue price of zł.20.50 per share to zł.24 at 11:19 local time.
The Treasury stands to gain as much as zł.7.9 billion from its sale of the 38.5 percent stake in PKO BP, which is the country's largest bank. However, discounts granted to individual investors could bring down the total amount heading for state coffers to zł.7.7 billion.
An unprecendented special stock market session took place on Saturday November 6, where the final share allocations were locked in for individual investors. Domestic institutional investors were allowed to buy 104,188,322 shares via investment brokerages, down from the previously expected 132 million. Earlier, retail investors were given the opportunity to subscribe for shares in a separate tranche at prices as low as zł.19.70.
Shortly before the sale, Treasury chiefs announced a major restructuring, cutting the size of the stake for foreign institutional investors and enlarging the stakes to be sold to Polish institutional and individual investors. Ministry officials surprised many when they increased the size of the stake in PKO BP to be sold in its initial public offering to 38.5 percent from the originally planned 30 percent.
Individual investors were welcome to a total of 168 million shares, or 16.8 percent of the bank's capital. Foreign investors will purchase 85 million shares, or 8.5 percent.
The bank's shares were set to enter Warsaw's broad-share WIG index on November 16, and later, the WIG20, representing the WSE's 20 largest companies, after December 20. (A.K.)
"PKO BP's debut shows that the market is absorptive. Today's price shows that the bank is good and there is no reason for the price to decline," said Socha.
Dealers recorded 1.4 billion transactions within the first hour of trade and the price soared 17.1 percent from its issue price of zł.20.50 per share to zł.24 at 11:19 local time.
The Treasury stands to gain as much as zł.7.9 billion from its sale of the 38.5 percent stake in PKO BP, which is the country's largest bank. However, discounts granted to individual investors could bring down the total amount heading for state coffers to zł.7.7 billion.
An unprecendented special stock market session took place on Saturday November 6, where the final share allocations were locked in for individual investors. Domestic institutional investors were allowed to buy 104,188,322 shares via investment brokerages, down from the previously expected 132 million. Earlier, retail investors were given the opportunity to subscribe for shares in a separate tranche at prices as low as zł.19.70.
Shortly before the sale, Treasury chiefs announced a major restructuring, cutting the size of the stake for foreign institutional investors and enlarging the stakes to be sold to Polish institutional and individual investors. Ministry officials surprised many when they increased the size of the stake in PKO BP to be sold in its initial public offering to 38.5 percent from the originally planned 30 percent.
Individual investors were welcome to a total of 168 million shares, or 16.8 percent of the bank's capital. Foreign investors will purchase 85 million shares, or 8.5 percent.
The bank's shares were set to enter Warsaw's broad-share WIG index on November 16, and later, the WIG20, representing the WSE's 20 largest companies, after December 20. (A.K.)
