The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a remarkable revival in initial public offerings (IPOs) during 2024, marking a significant turnaround from the previous year’s subdued activity. The bourse saw a total of seven IPOs, including two on the Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) Board, compared to a solitary offering in 2023. This resurgence in capital market activity reflects growing investor confidence and improved economic conditions in the country.
Companies raised a total of Rs8.4 billion (approximately $30 million) through these offerings, the highest amount in the past three years. The last time the market saw such enthusiasm was in 2021 when eight offerings raised Rs19.9 billion. All seven IPOs in 2024 were oversubscribed, indicating robust demand for new equity investments.
The renewed interest in IPOs can be attributed to several factors, including macroeconomic stability under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program, positive market sentiment, high liquidity, falling interest rates, and political stability. These conditions have encouraged both companies to go public and investors to participate in new offerings.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index reflected this positive sentiment, surging by an impressive 83% in Pakistani Rupee (PKR) terms and 85% in US Dollar terms year-to-date in 2024. This remarkable performance underscores the renewed investor interest in Pakistani equities. Trading activity also saw a significant uptick, with the average daily traded volume increasing by 69% to 545 million shares, while the daily traded value rose by 108% to Rs21 billion during the year.
Let’s take a closer look at the companies that made their debut on the PSX in 2024: The content in this publication is expensive to produce. But unlike other journalistic outfits, business publications have to cover the very organizations that directly give them advertisements. Hence, this large source of revenue, which is the lifeblood of other media houses, is severely compromised on account of Profit’s no-compromise policy when it comes to our reporting. No wonder, Profit has lost multiple ad deals, worth tens of millions of rupees, due to stories that held big businesses to account. Hence, for our work to continue unfettered, it must be supported by discerning readers who know the value of quality business journalism, not just for the economy but for the society as a whole.To read the full article, subscribe and support independent business journalism in Pakistan
