ISLAMABAD: A joint Sino-Pakistani tyre manufacturer debuted on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), a move that market participants described as the first listing by a Chinese-invested company on the country’s bourse and a milestone in the integration of industrial and financial cooperation between China and Pakistan.
Service Long March Tyres Ltd (SLM), a joint venture between Pakistan’s Servis Group and China’s Chaoyang Long March Tyre Co Ltd, was listed on the PSX yesterday.
Chinese shareholders held about 43% of the company before the offering.
The initial public offering (IPO) raised 7.77 billion Pakistani rupees, making it the largest private-sector IPO in Pakistan’s capital market history.
The book-building process attracted bids worth 69.4 billion rupees, representing an oversubscription of 16.7 times and setting records for both subscription amount and subscription speed on the exchange.
Market observers said the transaction could provide a reference case for Chinese-invested enterprises seeking to tap into local financing channels in Belt and Road economies.
You Hang, deputy general manager of China Financial Futures Exchange (CFFE)and a Chinese director of the PSX, said the successful listing of SLM reflects the combined impact of industrial cooperation, technology transfer and capital market support between China and Pakistan.
“The transaction serves as a key reference for more China-Pakistan cooperative projects seeking to access the PSX,” You said.
In 2017, a Chinese-led consortium that included the CFFE, the Shanghai Stock Exchange, and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange acquired a strategic stake in PSX.
Proceeds from the IPO will mainly be used to finance the construction of a new passenger-car tyre plant in Pakistan.
The project, with a planned investment of about 22.56 billion rupees, is expected to begin operations in 2028. — China Daily/ANN
