No Christmas cheer as FGV price dips below IPO

There will be no Christmas cheer for holders of Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV) stocks as its share price briefly dipped below its initial public offering price (IPO) of RM4.55 this morning.

At around 10.30am the price hit a low of RM4.53 after opening at RM4.55.

Hovering around the IPO threshold at RM4.56 thereafter, the price at lunchtime improved slightly to RM4.57.

Wavering on both sides of RM4.55 for most of this afternoon, the share price finally closed on an improved RM4.6, 5sen higher than the day’s opening price.

Yesterday, the price also skirted the threshold and closed at RM4.61, lower than its opening price.

According to business portalThe Edge Financial Daily, the six-month moratorium on initial investors that forbids them from selling the shares ended yesterday.

It noted that FGV’s inclusion into the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KL Composite Index (KLCI) that coincided with the lifting of the moratorium did little to help the share pice’s downhill trend.

At the time of its controversial listing in June, FGV was the second largest initial public offering in the world after Facebook Inc.

The stock peaked at RM5.55 shortly after its listing, but has been on a downward trend since.

It hit a record low of RM4.50 in the first week of December.

Local analyst Alliance Research in October predicted that FGV’s earnings will further decline in the coming three years and called to sell.

It attributed the company’s poor performance mainly to concerns over low earnings from plantation companies, as well as aged hectarage, heavy replanting and discounts to peers.

At the time, it also warned that the stock’s inclusion into the KLCI was “not tenable”.