MCB Bank plans $150m GDR

MCB Bank Ltd, Pakistan’s second-largest listed bank, said on Thursday it was preparing a global depository receipt (GDR) sale in London worth up to $150 million.

MCB, which ranks behind National Bank of Pakistan on the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) with a market capitalisation of about $1.9 billion, will start pre-marketing the offer later this month.

That timetable could beat to the market a potentially larger London issue by Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (OGDCL), which plans to list between 10 and 15 per cent of the $9 billion oil firm as a GDR by the end of the year.

“We will be launching the roadshows from the 25th, with an approximate pricing date of the GDR of Oct 9,” said Ali Munir, Chief Financial Officer of MCB Bank. “The size of the issue will be $100-$150 million,” he said, confirming information given to Reuters earlier by a source in Beijing.

Munir said roadshows for the GDR issue will be held in Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Amsterdam, London, Boston, New York and San Francisco.

The lender first announced its GDR plan in July and it has appointed Merrill Lynch as its sole book-runner. The bank, which has more than 950 branches, is offering all primary shares, representing about seven per cent of its total enlarged share capital.

Shares of MCB Bank closed more than two per cent down at Rs223.15 on Thursday while the broader market was down 1.41 per cent.

Source: The News