Merdeka Gold set for debut after Indonesia’s largest IPO of the year

[JAKARTA] Merdeka Gold Resources is set to begin trading in Jakarta on Tuesday (Sep 23) after the miner wrapped up Indonesia’s largest initial public offering (IPO) this year.

The shares were priced at 2,880 rupiah apiece during the IPO, near the upper end of their marketed range of 1,800 rupiah to 3,020 rupiah. Merdeka raised 4.7 trillion rupiah (S$364 million) by selling a 10 per cent stake in the IPO, the largest in Indonesia this year.

The deal came amid a rally in prices of the precious metal, it just hit another record, providing a tailwind for miners to raise funds. They include China’s Zijin Gold International, which is planning to raise US$3.2 billion in what is set to be the world’s biggest listing since May.

Merdeka is a unit of listed miner Merdeka Copper Gold, which is backed by the likes of coal baron Garibaldi Thohir. It is developing a mine in Indonesia’s Sulawesi island and will use the IPO proceeds as working capital and loan repayment.

Trimegah Sekuritas Indonesia, Indo Premier Sekuritas Indonesia, Sinarmas Sekuritas and UOB Kay Hian Sekuritas arranged the IPO. BLOOMBERG