Metal and mining firm PT Trimegah Bangun Persada is set to debut in Jakarta on Wednesday after raising 10-trillion rupiah ($672-million) in Indonesia’s largest initial public offering this year. The sale attracted high investor demand and sheds light on the country’s electric-vehicle sector.
The company, also known as Harita Nickel, offered about eight-billion shares at 1 250 rupiah apiece. They were sold at the top of a marketed range that started at 1 220 rupiah. Trading is expected to begin at 9:00 a.m. local time.
The listing attracted attention from domestic and foreign investors seeking to profit from the EV supply chain, which isn’t largely represented in Jakarta’s stock exchange. Harita Nickel is the first company in Southeast Asia’s largest economy to process low-grade nickel ore into battery grade metal, using a method known as high-pressure acid leaching, or HPAL.
A good opening could help further boost sentiment toward the EV sector, which has been in focus given President Joko Widodo’s plan to build an end-to-end EV supply chain onshore. The nation has been seeking to lure investments in the sector to help it capitalize on its nickel reserves, which is the world’s biggest.
Harita Nickel’s performance could also provide investors cues ahead of the debut by nickel mining and processing firm PT Merdeka Battery Materials on April 18, following its 8.75-trillion rupiah IPO.
“While the firm hadn’t released any official data on demand, the bookbuild had reportedly been oversubscribed,” Clarence Chu, an analyst at Aequitas Research who publishes on Smartkarma, said of Harita Nickel’s share sale.
Regional sovereign wealth funds and and international investors bought shares in the IPO, Chu wrote in a note on April 11, and since the offering didn’t count on cornerstone investors, “around 12.6% of the firm’s total outstanding shares will be available for trading on debut.”
Prior to Harita Nickel’s IPO, 11 companies debuted in Jakarta after raising at least $500 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Within that group, three dropped on the first day of trade, two ended unchanged and six finished above the listing price. The average increase for the first session was 8.1%, the data show.
Credit Suisse Group, BNP Paribas, Citigroup and PT Mandiri Sekuritas are joint global coordinators for Harita Nickel’s share sale.