Kaspi.kz GDRs Accepted for Trading on AIX

Global depository receipts (GDRs) of the Kaspi.kz holding were added to the official listing of the Astana International Exchange (AIX) on October 15 and accepted for trades on October 22, the stock exchange’s press office reported.

Tim Bennett, CEO of AIX, welcomed the debut of Kaspi.kz on AIX.

«The recent IPO has demonstrated the potential of private high-tech companies and paved the way for other issuers,» he noted.

During the IPO on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) last week, owners of Kaspi.kz sold 27.5 million GDRs for $870 million. After the sale of the additional option, the number of placed securities increased to 29.5 million for a total sum of nearly $1 billion. The free float share amounted to 15.4%.

It should be noted that during the IPO, only institutional investors could purchase the securities.

Kaspi.kz (KSPI) GDR trading on the main LSE platform started on October 20. Kaspi.kz also announced plans to place at least 20% of the supposed GDR volume on AIX. The precise placement volume was not disclosed. Trading on AIX was scheduled to start on October 21, but that never happened.

The AIX press office explained to Kursiv that market makers needed to finalize all procedures so that the securities trading could begin on Wednesday morning, but by that time, the process had not been completed.

The Freedom Finance investment company initiated coverage on Kaspi.kz securities on October 20. The target price is set at $44.50 per 1 GDR.

From October 15, when conditional trading in the securities started on LSE, these GDRs increased in price by 23.7%. On the trading day of October 21, they closed at $41.75 per paper.

Freedom Finance analysts believe that attractiveness of Kaspi.kz GDRs, although somewhat undervalued, comes out neutral relative to the current market price. However, the group boasts enough favorable factors that can contribute to growth of value and financial indicators. The current recommendation is to hold.

Kaspi.kz operates three platforms: a marketplace, a fintech platform and a payment system. According to data from the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange, as of October 1 (prior to the IPO), Vyacheslav Kim owned 38% shares of the holding, funds of Baring Vostok Capital Partners 28.8%, Mikhail Lomtadze 25.9% and Goldman Sachs 3.9%.