KARACHI: Because of the unstable political and economic climate, the board of directors of Amreli Steels Ltd. (ASL) has opted to temporarily halt operations at its oldest manufacturing plant, Site Rolling Mills (SRM), located in Karachi.
ASL stated in a securities filing on Tuesday that the SRM accounts for 30% of the business’s overall manufacturing capacity.
In six months, the situation will be reevaluated, and if things get better, the facility might reopen. To meet present and future steel demand, the company will continue to run its Dhabeji factory, which makes up 70% of its production capacity, throughout this time.
Amreli made this choice in response to the serious financial difficulties the documented sector is currently facing. Numerous economic and political causes, such as the falling demand for steel bars, rising utility costs (especially electricity), high interest rates, an imbalanced tariff system, high tax burdens, smuggling, and a rise in undocumented operations, have made these challenges worse. All of these seriously upset the equilibrium of the market and lead to unfair competition.
China orders from TOMCL
According to a public filing on Tuesday, The Organic Meat Company Ltd. (TOMCL) has successfully landed a sizable contract to provide frozen cooked beef meat to China. The contract, valuing $12 million, is projected to be a major milestone in the company’s business operations, expanding its worldwide reach in the developing Chinese market.
Under the terms of the agreement, high-frozen cooked beef meat will be supplied; shipments are expected to start temporarily. The cooperation, according to the company, is in line with its plan to expand into new markets, especially in Asia, and improve export operations. The meat exporter anticipates a positive impact from the deal on its revenue and profitability in FY25.
Mari’s financial strategy
A Rs. 10 billion equity investment in the proposed wholly-owned subsidiary company, which focuses on data centers, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and other new technologies, including those used in the mining and petroleum sectors, has been approved by the board of directors of Mari Petroleum Company Ltd. (MPCL).
Right now, BF Biosciences is building books
BF Biosciences is scheduled to go public by selling 25 million shares through book building on September 25–26, with a floor price of Rs55 (Rs1.375bn/$4.9m) and a ceiling of Rs77 per share (Rs1.925bn/$6.9m). This is in addition to the second IPO scheduled for the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) this year.
After its IPO, the company’s market capitalization would be between Rs4.9 and 6.8 billion ($18 and $25 million).
The non-essential portion of BF Biosciences’ product portfolio makes up about 30% of the total, with the vital portion being the remainder. The proceeds from the IPO will be used to develop new products, including Glucagon-like Peptide (GLP1), acquire export certifications, buy plant and machinery to expand the product base and increase process efficiencies, and buy raw materials and packing materials to meet working capital needs after expansion.
