(April 14): PT Fore Kopi Indonesia soared in its trading debut in Jakarta as investors shrugged off the likelihood of tariffs hurting the local coffee chain’s ability to sell pandan-flavoured lattes.

The stock surged 34% to its upper limit of 252 rupiah at the open, versus its initial public offering price of 188 rupiah. The main stock index gained as much as 1.8%.

Fore’s debut provides a vote of confidence for companies seeking to raise funds amid the turbulence in global stock markets and may encourage other firms that aren’t heavily impacted by tariffs to pursue listings. Economic concerns had driven down stocks in Southeast Asia even before US President Donald Trump’s shock tariffs, which muddied the outlook for IPOs in the region.

“The company’s decision to press ahead with the IPO amid the global market turmoil turned out to be right,” said Willson Cuaca, Fore president commissioner and co-founder and managing partner of East Ventures.

East Ventures is one of the backers of Fore, which is among the numerous coffee chains that have sprouted up in the country in recent years by serving sweet beverages such as pandan-flavoured lattes that have become popular among young Indonesians.

Fore’s debut helped the company raise its market value to 2.25 trillion rupiah (RM592.58 million), providing some optimism in a country that saw domestic consumption slow to below 5% for the past five consecutive quarters.

With Fore Kopi’s debut, IPOs in Indonesia have raised about US$388 million (RM1.71 billion) so far this year, up 72% from the same period in 2024, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Uploaded by Arion Yeow