(Dec 30): Pakistan’s largest egg products manufacturer Barkat Frisian Agro Ltd is planning an initial public offering (IPO) next month, a merchant banker said, amid a stock market rally that has made the South Asian nation the best performer in Asia for 2024.

The company, a joint venture between an arm of the homegrown Buksh Group and the Netherlands-based Frisian Egg Group, is looking to raise as much as 1.2 billion rupees (RM19.21 million) through the offer, said Shahid Ali Habib, chief executive officer at Arif Habib Ltd, lead manager and book runner for the transaction.

The funds raised will be used to develop the company’s new production plant at Faisalabad’s special economic zone in central Punjab province, Habib said.

Barkat Frisian, which already has a plant in Karachi, aims to increase its annual production capacity to 29,000 tonnes from 17,000 tonnes at present to meet rising demand from domestic and overseas customers.

Karachi Stock Exchange’s benchmark KSE-100 Index has jumped 82% so far this year and is expected to advance by more than a quarter by the end of next year as the economy recovers with help from the International Monetary Fund’s loan programme and the currency stabilises.  

Barkat Frisian Agro manufactures and sells pasteurised eggs, egg yolks, egg whites and customised egg-based products tailored for food manufacturers.

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