Secure Logistics Group to raise $2.7mn in Pakistan's first logistics IPO

Pakistan's Secure Logistics Group Ltd (SLG), a company that provides logistics and vehicle fleet management services, is planning to launch an initial public offering (IPO) at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) in the first quarter of 2024, according to a Bloomberg report.

The company aims to sell about 63 million shares and raise at least Rs750 million ($2.7 million), said Shahid Ali Habib, chief executive officer of Arif Habib Limited (AHL), the sole financial adviser and bookrunner for the deal. The proceeds will primarily be used to reduce the company's debt, he added.

SLG, based in Islamabad, has a total of 283 transport vehicles and expects its revenue to increase to Rs2.1 billion in 2023 and grow by another 28% in 2024, said Habib. The company will become Pakistan's first listed logistics company once the share sale is completed.

The IPO comes at a time when the PSX is enjoying a remarkable performance, with the benchmark KSE-100 index hitting new peaks and delivering a return of nearly 55% in 2023. 

However, despite the record show, IPOs were scarce in the market, with only one company, Symmetry Group, raising a meagre Rs 435 million in 2023. This was the lowest amount raised in a year in the past decade and half of the previous record low of Rs800 million seen in 2013.