Sihanoukville Autonomous Port (PAS), the Kingdom’s only deep-sea port, has officially announced its initial public offering (IPO) on the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX), and will launch its six-day book-building and public roadshow starting next Tuesday with an expected listing date set for May 31, according to the IPO’s sole underwriter SBI Royal Securities. The state-owned company will offer a total of 21.44 million shares, or a 25% stake in hopes of raising a maximum $27mn to expand and improve existing facilities. According to PAS’s announcement yesterday, the company has allocated 54% of the total offering shares to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), with 25.2% allocated for the book-building process, 10.8% set aside for the subscription process, and the remaining 10.0% going towards an employee stock ownership program (ESOP). Book building will determine the stock price which ranges from $0.88 to $1.29 per share. Seng Chan Theun, head of corporate finance at SIB Royal, said the proceeds from the IPO will be used to purchase an additional 52 hectares of land to construct a new dry port, while also expanding its container yard and purchasing new heavy machinery. (Source: Phnom Penh Post)