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PNB listing on bourses likely on April 26

BS Economy Bureau

Punjab National Bank shares are expected to be listed on bourses on April 26, making it the first public sector bank to be listed in the last one-and-a-half years.

Bank sources said April 26 has been decided as the tentative listing date and the Bombay Stock Exchange has already agreed to the listing date.

"We hope to complete all the formalities by that time and be ready for a listing in the last week of the month," a senior bank executive said. PNB shares will be listed on BSE and the Delhi Stock Exchange.

According to Sebi norms, shares have to be listed within 30 days of completion of the public issue. PNB's initial public offering, which closed on March 28, was oversubscribed with the bank receiving 150,000 applications amounting to over Rs 7 billion against an offer size of Rs 1.65 billion, a bank statement added.

The bank had offered 53 million equity shares of Rs 10 each at a premium of Rs 21 per share.

Subsequent to the IPO, government holding will come down to 80 per cent. The Delhi-headquartered bank had returned Rs 1.38 billion capital to the government in 1997 and had an equity base of a mere Rs 2.12 billion prior to the issue, making it one of the smallest banks in terms of equity base.

Sources said the share allotment formula is at present being worked out with SBI Caps, the post-issue merchant banker along with DSE. "The issue will provide the much needed fillip to the public confidence in the primary market," PNB chairman and managing director S S Kohli said.

Apart from SBI Caps, I-Sec, DSP Merrill Lynch and Kotak Mahindra were the other merchant bankers associated with the IPO.

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