BSP eyes ASX listing

THE BANK South Pacific (BSP) is considering having it listed on the Australian securities exchange (ASX).
Bank board chairman Sir Kostas Constantinou said the bank planned to convene a special meeting of shareholders to seek approval for changes to its constitution to enable an application to be made for BSP to be included in the official list of the ASX.
This will allow it to achieve dual listing.
It is already listed in the PNG stock exchange (PNGX).
“The notice of meeting is currently subject to advice and approvals, which are expected to be finalised during March 2021,” Sir Kostas said.
BSP group chief executive officer Robin Fleming said the reason behind the planned ASX listing was to gain access to new sources of capital on the main exchange in Australia.
“While BSP has been listed since 2003 on the PNGX, there are a number of constraints that BSP faces in sourcing new forms of equity capital,” he said.
“Accordingly, BSP is pursuing the proposed listing as a means of mitigating some of these constraints.
“The access to new sources of capital will allow BSP to explore future growth opportunities.
“Another benefit of joining the ASX is that it will facilitate increased liquidity for BSP’s shareholders (trading of BSP shares).
“The ASX is a much deeper (larger pool of investors) and (more) active market than the PNGX.
“Accordingly, shareholders will find it easier to trade BSP shares on the ASX.”
Fleming said joining the ASX would improve BSP’s visibility.
“It will provide the opportunity to better educate the international marketplace in relation to BSP and PNG,” he said.