Russia's Don Agro debuts at S$0.25 on SGX, 13.6% higher than IPO price

RUSSIAN agri and dairy firm Don Agro International on Friday made its debut on the Singapore Exchange's (SGX) Catalist at S$0.25, 13.6 per cent higher than its initial public offering (IPO) price of S$0.22 apiece.

As at 10.50am on Friday, the counter was trading flat at S$0.245.

Don Agro, which operates winter wheat, sunflower and dairy cattle farms in southern Russia's Rostov region, is the first Russian firm to be listed on the Singapore bourse. Its IPO involved the issuance of 23 million new placement shares at S$0.22 each to raise some S$5.1 million.

Evgeny Tugolukov, executive chairman of Don Agro International, noted that being listed on SGX will fuel the company's next phase of growth and capture opportunities within the burgeoning Russian agricultural industry.

"Listing on SGX not only provides us with a gateway to tap on the capital markets, but also an enhanced platform for business opportunities and strategic partnerships in Singapore and the region," he added.

Separately, Mohamed Nasser Ismail, global head of equity capital markets at SGX, said that Don Agro's listing reinforces SGX's position as Asia's most international exchange, with more than 40 per cent of international listings.

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Noting that the new listing also offers investors with an opportunity to invest in resource-rich Russia, Mr Nasser added: "We provide an ideal venue for companies globally looking to access the capital markets in Asia and would welcome more businesses from Russia and around the world to tap our capital markets."

With a market cap of about S$35 million, the listing of Don Agro brings the total number of companies listed on SGX's Catalist to 217, with a combined market cap of about S$9 billion.

Within the commodities sector, there are currently 32 companies listed on SGX with a total market cap of around S$40 billion.