A team of experienced capital markets and banking experts has ensured Shanta Equity, which kicked off its operations in January 2022, stays on top of its game in Bangladesh.
In 2023, for instance, 92% of the funds raised in the country’s equities market was through deals led by Shanta. This included working on hotel group Best Holdings’ Tk3.5 billion ($29 million) IPO, the fourth-largest listing from a non-financial group ever in the country, which was covered by more than 3.5 times. It also advised on the sale of shares in Premier LP Gas by French parent TotalEnergies to local investors, and arranged a Tk3 billion bond for IFAD Autos in a high interest rate environment.
Shanta Equity’s IPO pipeline is also hefty and includes deals for Chaldal.com, the first startup set to go public in Bangladesh, and the IPO of solar company Orion Power Rupsha. The bank, led by CEO Rubayet E Ferdous, is particularly championing startup IPOs and collaborating with regulators on developing a new set of rules to allow such listings.
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