News Update Times

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

The book-building phase of Octopus Digital Limited’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) has concluded with an oversubscription up to 27 times, according to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).

The IPO received an overwhelming response from institutional investors and high net worth individuals as the cap price clocked in at Rs. 40.6 per share, 32 percent higher than the floor price of Rs. 30.6. Octopus Digital Limited (“Octopus” or the “Company” or the “Issuer”) translated net participation of Rs. 30.2 billion in total, a little shy of Avanceon’s market cap by Rs. 3.2 billion.

Several brokerages tipped off calls to ‘subscribe,’ which resulted in an investor demand amounting to 745 million in a bid volume against the IPO’s share size of 27 million. The book-building witnessed the participation of 1,757 investors, making it Pakistan’s first tech IPO in the last seven years to get oversubscribed up to the highest ever level of the stock market.

Octopus Digital Limited was incorporated on 29th December 2017, as a private limited company in Lahore, Pakistan. Octopus is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Avanceon Limited and specializes in helping businesses digitize their manufacturing, supply chain, and financial workflows backed by strategic and operational maintenance support services.

Octopus Digital’s parent company Avanceon Limited is an automation consultant. As per Avanceon Limited’s financials, the company recorded a consolidated profit after the tax of Rs. 244.8 million in the first quarter ended on March 31, 2021, down from Rs. 385 million in the same three-month period of the previous year.

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

After the initial success of Male Champions of Change Pakistan with leading Pakistani CEOs joining the global cohort of male leadership supporting gender equality, including CEO Telenor Pakistan, CEO Pepsi Co., CEO Serena Hotels, CEO Pakistan Microfinance Investment Corporation (PMIC), CEO EY Ford Rhodes amongst others, convenor MCC Pakistan and development expert Fiza Farhan meets and inducts CEO Interloop Limited, Navid Fazil.

The signing ceremony took place at Interloop’s Head office in Faisalabad, and was attended by Faryal Sadiq, Vice President Sales & Marketing, and Saira Taimur Khan, GM Strategic HR/Business Strategy, who together have been instrumental in bringing Interloop as Pakistan’s first local large business to the International Champions of Change Coalition representing 270+ CEOs from diverse sectors.

“It gives me great pleasure to welcome Navid Fazil and Interloop Pakistan to this global coalition of CEO’s and leaders working together to understand gender equality issues and lead action to accelerate progress in creating more inclusive and progressive organizations in Pakistan. While it is heartening to have a strong representation of CEO’s representing multinational companies and I thank them for their collective leadership, I feel that long-lasting and far-reaching change always comes from within, when the leadership of local businesses decides to step up beside women; challenging cultural, social and regulatory context to create unstoppable momentum for a gender equal Pakistan” said Fiza Farhan, convenor MCC Pakistan.

The Champions of Change Coalition is a globally recognized, innovative strategy for achieving gender equality, advancing more and diverse women in leadership, and building respectful and inclusive workplaces. In the strategy, men of power and influence step up beside women leaders. They form a high-profile Coalition to lead and be accountable for change on gender equality issues in their organizations and communities – be they local, national or global. The Pakistan Group was established in 2019and includes representatives from various sectors including FMCG, hospitality, telecommunications, information technology and software, micro-finance and sports organizations.

“In Pakistan, promoting gender equity is not only a business imperative, but also a social one. Despite cultural and legal barriers, we have set out to advance women throughout our organization and reap the benefits of a gender diverse workforce. We have made great progress but there is a long way to go and I am committed to continue on this journey helping building a diverse, inclusive and equitable workplace,” said CEO Interloop Limited, Navid Fazil.

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Indus Motor Company Limited (IMC), the makers of Toyota vehicles in Pakistan, has announced that it would invest $100 million in the local production of hybrid electric vehicles. The amount will be invested over the period of three years, said the company in its filing to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday.

“We are pleased to announce that, based on the incentives provided against certain taxes, duties as announced by the Government of Pakistan through Finance Act 2021, and subsequent Statutory Regulatory Orders (SROs), the company has evaluated and plans to invest an estimated aggregate amount of $100 million, over the next 3 years, for the local production of Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) in Pakistan,” the company wrote in letter to Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).

The automotive manufacturing company said that the announced investment shall go towards plant upgradation, extension, localization of parts or components, and production preparation or assembling of HEVs.

“The production by the company shall be done in Port Qasim Authority, Karachi,” the statement added.

The announcement comes after Toyota Motor Corp, IMC’s parent company, said that it expected to spend more than $13.5 billion by 2030 to develop batteries and its battery supply system as the move to hybrid electric vehicles gathers steam. The federal cabinet on Dec.22 had approved Pakistan’s first Electric Vehicle Policy.

The motorcycles and vehicles would be shifted on electric power, while Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Units would also be established in the country. Under the new EV policy, the Sindh Transport Minister Syed Owais Shah back in March 2021 had launched Pakistan’s first electric bus in Karachi۔