On June 23rd, the Hong Kong secondary listing offering for Indonesian-listed gold mining operator MERDEKAGOLD-DRS (06228) concluded. According to statistics, the company's offering received HK$690 million in margin financing subscriptions from brokers, representing an oversubscription rate of 1.88 times. This marks the first new HDR (Hong Kong Depositary Receipt) listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange in 12 years, following the listing of UNIQLO's parent company, Fast Retailing (06288), in 2014.
According to the plan, Merdeka Gold intends to issue 89.669 million HDRs, with each HDR representing 10 underlying shares. There is no clawback mechanism, with 10% of the offering allocated for the Hong Kong public offering and the remainder for the international offering. The board lot for trading Merdeka Gold is 100 HDRs, with an entry price of approximately HK$2,686.82. The shares are expected to commence trading on June 26th. UBS and CITIC Securities are acting as joint sponsors for the offering.
This IPO involves the sale of existing shares by selling shareholders. Merdeka Gold will not receive any net proceeds from the offering; the selling shareholders will receive all net proceeds from the global offering.
Merdeka Gold is a controlling subsidiary of Indonesian mining giant MCG, which has been listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange since June 2015. Merdeka Gold's core asset is the Pani gold mine, Indonesia's largest primary gold deposit. The mine achieved its first gold production in February 2026 and completed its first sale in March. Based on projected output, it is expected to become one of the top two primary gold mines in Asia by 2030.
According to its mining license, the Pani gold mine covers a concession area of 135 hectares. It holds mineral resources of 291.5 million tonnes with a gold grade of 0.75 grams per tonne, containing 7 million ounces (218.6 tonnes) of gold metal. Its ore reserves stand at 203.1 million tonnes with a gold grade of 0.79 grams per tonne, containing 5.2 million ounces (160.5 tonnes) of gold metal.
In 2025, Merdeka Gold reported revenue of $132,000, a year-on-year decrease of 92.5%. Its total comprehensive loss for the year was $27.332 million, an increase of 105.2%. Li Mingyang, Vice President of Corporate Development and Investor Relations at Merdeka Gold, estimates the company will achieve a turnaround to profitability this year.
Furthermore, the company has entered into cornerstone investment agreements with Ping An Asset Management, Wanguo (03939), Glencore, Mercuria, Trafigura, Kaiyuan Mining, GF Fund, CNGR Advanced Material (02579), Orix, WindSabre, and DAMSIMF. These cornerstone investors have agreed to subscribe for approximately $152 million (about HK$1.191 billion) worth of the offered HDRs.
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