KrisEnergy rises above IPO price on debut

(REUTERS) - Shares of oil and gas explorer KrisEnergy, backed by Keppel Corp and private equity firm First Reserve, rose above the initial public offering price in their trading debut on the Singapore Exchange.

The KrisEnergy stock advanced as much as 14.5 per cent to $1.26 on Friday, versus its IPO price of $1.10, but gave up some of the gains to trade at $1.165 at around 11 am. It was the top-traded stock by value in the Singapore market.

The company sold 151.99 million shares and an additional 94.16 million shares to cornerstone investors, raising gross proceeds of $270.8 million.

"It's an oil exploration company. If they can strike oil then the share price will go up, but basically the nature of the business is highly risky," said a trader.

"The fact that Keppel Corp bought a stake in the company is kind of a vote of confidence, but the pricing was at the top of the range," he added.

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