Amman Mineral makes firm debut in Indonesia’s biggest IPO this year

Amman Mineral’s stock opened at 1,745 rupiah, 2.9% higher than its IPO price of 1,695 rupiah a share, on the Indonesia stock exchange.

It dropped as low as 1,700 rupiah, then climbed as high as 1,820 rupiah before settling at 1,755 rupiah. The local benchmark stock index ended 0.6% lower.

The Jakarta-based company’s IPO was the biggest since the $1.1 billion listing of tech firm GoTo in April 2022.

Amman Mineral, the country’s second-biggest copper and gold producer after Freeport Indonesia, plans to use the proceeds to repay debt and fund several projects, including a $980 million copper smelter it aims to complete in May 2024.

Amman Minerals CEO Alexander Ramlie said on Friday the company’s business prospects were solid because of rising copper demand and the metal’s importance in the global transition to renewable energy.

Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, is stepping up the use of renewable energy.

The firm debut by Amman Mineral could also bode well for upcoming listings in Indonesia, one of the world’s hottest IPO markets this year, amid a government drive to privatise some state-owned enterprises.

First-time share sales in Indonesia have raised $2.2 billion as of June, second only to China in the Asia-Pacific region and ahead of traditional powerhouse Hong Kong, according to Refinitiv data.

Next in the pipeline this month is a $160 million IPO by Indonesia’s largest cinema chain operator Nusantara Sejahtera Raya.

Other upcoming IPOs in Indonesia include the upstream arm of state energy company Pertamina, Pertamina Hulu Energi, which could raise at least 20 trillion rupiah.

State-owned fertilizer company Pupuk Kalimantan Timur and palm oil producer PalmCo could raise $500 million each.