After engaging in a three-day-long subscription campaign last week and a nationwide marketing campaign aimed at investors, Koza Gold took the last step in its initial public offering (IPO) and began trading on the İMKB under the symbol KOZAL. The stock started trading at a base price of TL 36.75, falling to TL 33.00 in the first hour of trading, or 9.5 percent lower than the company had imagined for this TL 18 million nominally valued IPO.İMKB Chairman Hüseyin Erkan, speaking as the opening bell was rung, called for other firms in the gold industry to also go public, stating: “We’re the biggest producer of gold in Europe and the fourth largest consumer of gold globally. We met with the gold and jewelry sector representatives, and I’m now calling on all of them, from miners to refineries to the jewelers to go public and list their shares on the İMKB.”
Erkan added that they have named 2010 the year of IPOs and that they plan to hold a meeting in May with representatives from firms from across the nation to explain the benefits of going public.
Also speaking as trading began, Akın İpek, chairman of the Koza İpek Group, the parent company of Koza Gold, stated that there was great potential in Turkey’s mining sector -- in fact enough for Turkey to sustain all of its precious metal needs. In a surprising statement, İpek stated that only 15 percent of Turkey’s land mass has been explored for precious metals. “If we can bring to light these underground resources, then Turkey will not need any resources from abroad. As for the remaining 85 percent, we’re not sure what’s underground. But if the barriers to exploration are lifted, Turkey’s mining sector can help Turkey’s development and assist it in becoming an economic leader,” he said.
The stock closed the first session of trading on Friday at TL 33.50, still below its base opening price, though it briefly saw TL 35.00 near the end of the first session.
Koza Gold is the largest gold mining firm in Turkey and has been lauded for its low costs of extracting precious metals and its ability to dig through the economic hardships of 2009 and post a nearly 40 percent increase in profits.
