THE IPO market is not dead. Mums and dads investors can expect at least one company listing before the end of the year, according to South Pacific Stock Exchange (SPX) chief executive officer Sheraj Obeyesekere.
In an exclusive interview with this newspaper, Mr Obeyesekere said since Sun Insurance’s successful Initial Public Off er (IPO) in August last year, which broke a five-year listing drought, companies have come on board exploring the concept of becoming a publicly listed company.
“Last year, we had a break in the drought for listings. After Port Denarau in 2019, we didn’t have any listing.
“And last year with Sun Insurance (listing) on August 15, we had a break in that drought.
“And we saw with the IPO being successful for the first time post pandemic, that certainly has been encouraging.
“Based on that, we have seen a lot of companies talking to us where they are now starting to explore listing again.”
Mr Obeyesekere said the five-year lull after Port Denarau’s 2019 listing had seen companies that were interested put the idea on the back burner.
“When five years go by without an IPO, everyone starts wondering whether the stock market exists, and the other thing is, even if you do an IPO, will there be demand. That’s a big question.
“So, any company looking to do an IPO, one of the main considerations is whether there will be demand, not only for their company but for any new investments in the economy.
“That question was answered last year in August when Sun Insurance had a successful IPO. It was oversubscribed.
“And based on that we have seen some companies say: ‘hey, hang on, we are also willing to start this process again’.”
SPX had organised a listing forum in June to promote the concept of going public, which Mr Obeyesekere said garnered a lot of interest from owners of private companies and family-owned businesses that attended.
“We’ve had a good response,” he said.
“Even before that forum, there were about two companies that were looking at listing.
“They are in the advanced stages, so this year, I think we should see, in a best-case scenario, two listings.
“I think at least one equity and there is also another company that is looking at doing a corporate bond, similar to FHL (Fijian Holdings Ltd) which they launched for their FHL Tower, so that also should happen this year.”
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Note: This article was first published under the headline: Companies keen on SPX listing in Page 13 of the print version of The Fiji Times dated Tuesday, September 10, 2025
