A representative image. – Canvas
Symmetry Group Limited – aiming to work on the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and data-driven marketing technologies, tools and platforms – will launch an initial public offering (IPO) and intends to conduct the bookbuilding process on August 8-9.
Sarocsh Ahmed, CEO of Symmetry Group Limited, guided Geo.tv through the entire process of the IPO and stated that August is the optimal time to go public.
“The timing is being carefully reviewed, taking into account Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) and Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) approvals. The optimal timing for the IPO takes into account market and economic conditions as well as the broader political landscape,” he said, adding that the company has been planning this IPO since 2021.
Ahmed – whose company is offering 101,240,082 shares in the IPO – claimed that it has been a long wait and the work has been underway and that they have now reached the level where they need funds to continue expansion plans.
He explained: “When we look at that context, it’s what we’ve all been waiting for, management and consultants [some clarity regarding] the International Monetary Fund (IMF) [programme] and now this [standby deal has been signed] The stock market reacted well to this.
“Also, PSX and SECP approval was another important factor to consider. So the last permit we need was from the SECP.” And that we got it on June 1st.”
He went on to explain that the approval was time-bound and the company – which would be listed on the PSX’s main stock exchange – had until August 31 to complete the IPO. “We have set August 8th and 9th for the bookbuilding period as we cannot delay that as after that we also have the public part and refund phase,” he added.
– Facebook/SymmetryGroup
Referring to the upward momentum in the KSE-100 benchmark index, the start-up co-founder said: “He feels that there could not be a better time than now… We are seeing stability, at least for six months Pakistan will not default, that is, “a good thing.”
Ahmed outlined his expectations for the bookbuilding phase – a process undertaken to generate demand for offered shares, soliciting bids from bidders and creating a book that represents demand for the shares at different price levels – and revealed the reaction so far has been overwhelming and “personally I think we’re going to have an oversubscription.”
Whilst explaining why the company had decided to leave the reserve price at 4.25 per share, Ahmed said: “We had to keep the reserve price at a low level because the market was not doing so well when the permits were obtained and the general development was increasing.” The feedback we received from investors was that the original price of 5.50 rupees was too high, so we revised our strategy and offered a discount.”
He further added that the company is now letting the market determine the strike price and given the recent rally on the PSX, “we hope the market is in a state where our strike price can be higher.”
“All digital indicators are on the rise”
In response to a question about the impact of an increase in taxes on digital services in the recent household on his business and in general, Ahmed stressed: “Data consumption has increased, we see in every household there is an increase in taxes, but have have we observed any adverse effects from this?”
“All digital indicators are increasing, including mobile, broadband subscriptions and digital bank issuance licenses, digital transactions and e-commerce,” he claimed, adding, “There is another indicator, which is digital channels like social media and there is an increase their traffic”.
Stressing the benefits of one of the biggest challenges – increasing population – the President said: “We should not miss our population growth, which is very high.” “It is a problem, but there is also an opportunity. Every year a new number of people emerge as users. By the time they graduate, they’ll be very familiar with the technology,” he explained.
HR – most important resource in Pakistan
Commenting on the real IT potential in Pakistan, Ahmed stressed that Pakistan’s most important resource is Human Resources.
“Some of our Middle Eastern customers who outsourced their business and used to go to India are now moving to Pakistan because their costs in India have doubled. Their currency has strengthened and the resource is asking for more money in the face of global inflation,” he explained.
“Currently, we can see a huge discount in hiring resources in Pakistan, which is a great benefit. If we link this to our HR department and provide and market timely products and solutions, we can generate good revenue.”
“When officials claim that in the next five years we will have $20 billion worth of exports in the IT sector. We can do that and there’s nothing wrong with that. Only half of these figures are currently reported and the main reason is the exchange rate difference. Most people divert their money to other forms of investment or keep it outside the country.”
“Now the money brought in by freelancers is counted under home remittances, and if we get those numbers right, it could be counted as nearly $4 billion of our IT exports.”
He claimed that the problem isn’t that digital growth is stalling due to brain drain due to consumption – people are talking about inclusion and digital banks. “Easypaisa and JazzCash have changed society, the market is there, people are consuming mobile data for some reason – be it for entertainment or for work.”
Quality should come first
Ahmed stressed that the potential of freelance work in Pakistan is huge and that the private sector must step forward to provide a platform for this industry. “Freelance associations should work more vigilantly to support the industry,” he said, while identifying the biggest challenge – which also needs to be controlled – in quality.
“Pakistan’s problem, not only in the freelance industry but also in other industries, is fraudulent activities – such as demanding money from clients, not delivering the work on time.” Because of such activities, clients only outsource their work to your company once, and then a bad review will shrink your customer list and also reflect badly on the country,” he claimed.
Startup owners need to bootstrap
The company co-founder also added that all startups need to bootstrap — get in and out of a situation with the resources they have — and not squander spending because burnout models no longer work as the world has progressed more than expected over the past year and “we can see that funding has stopped in Pakistan.”
He explained that “inflows only take a backseat when companies don’t offer profit/balance sheet”.
“Business models have changed – it used to be all about attracting attention or getting a number of users, and often it was all about the number of users and not profit. The times have changed. We need a profitable business now. All of our startups need better financial advice that encourages them to build profitable and sustainable businesses. The problem is, if you raise $20 million – the amount is huge, especially when you work in Pakistan – how can you burn all that money in a year?”
“Personally, I believe pitchers should always have less money than they asked for. They should get a reasonable amount that will be used to fulfill their requirements and then they should go to the next round that way. The startup owners know they have to work hard at something, but if they get extra money, what he/she has no plan, then it won’t work.”
“First and foremost, we need to correct our intentions because we [Pakistanis] have a habit of committing fraud that is not good for either the industry or the country. And second, we should work on our bottom line, strengthen ourselves and take small steps to grow,” he added.
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