Client Name

Arif Habib Limited

Faculty Advisor

Dr. Mujeeb U Rehman Bhayo

SBS Thought Leadership Areas

Investment Decision Making

SBS Thought Leadership Area Justification

We believe our IPO project with Arif Habib Limited aligns most strongly with the Investment Decision Making leadership theme at IBA-SBS. Our work directly involves the capital markets—focusing on equity valuation, regulatory compliance, and investor engagement. These are core elements emphasized under IBA-SBS’s leadership in Investment Decision Making, particularly through its Finance Lab and investment cluster initiatives. How Our Project Reflects This Theme: Hands-On Empirical Valuation We are conducting valuation analyses to determine the IPO share price range. This practical application of empirical asset pricing is at the heart of IBA-SBS’s mission to contribute to market efficiency through research and real-world application. Capital Markets Execution and Strategy Working alongside industry experts, we are preparing the company for listing on PSX—engaging in activities like financial due diligence, drafting the prospectus, and executing the book-building process. These tasks give us real insight into market dynamics and investment decisions, aligning with SBS’s objectives. Industry-Academia Collaboration Under the mentorship of professionals at Arif Habib Limited, we are receiving guidance in areas such as investment banking, legal compliance, and financial modeling. This reflects the collaborative approach that IBA-SBS promotes through its investment cluster. Career Preparation in Finance Through activities like investor roadshows, regulatory submissions, and the public offering, we are developing the core skills required for careers in investment banking and capital markets—a key goal of the Investment Decision Making theme.

Aligned SDGs

GOAL 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

Aligned SDGs Justification

Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8) Our IPO project facilitates business growth by helping a company raise capital through PSX, supporting job creation and entrepreneurship. It also equips us with skills relevant for careers in investment banking and capital markets. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (SDG 9) By contributing to capital market development, we are strengthening financial infrastructure and supporting industrial growth. Our work promotes transparency and efficiency through modern financial practices. Partnerships to Achieve the Goal (SDG 17) The project is a collaboration between academia (IBA), industry (Arif Habib Limited), and regulators (PSX, SECP), embodying the spirit of cross-sector partnerships for sustainable development.

NDA

No

Abstract

This report is based on our six-month Experiential Learning Project (ELP) at Arif Habib Limited (AHL), one of Pakistan’s leading investment banks. The main focus of the project was to understand the Initial Public Offering (IPO) process through the example of Barkat Frisian Agro Limited (BFAL), a company that went public in 2025. Since the IPO had already been completed right after the start of our project, most of the work was carried out through guided mock exercises—except for the live observation of the book building process, which was still ongoing during our time at AHL. The purpose of the ELP was to help us experience how investment banks structure IPOs and to give us a chance to apply the theories we had learned in class to real-world processes.

The project methodology was totally practical and sequential. We started by reading the Public Offering Regulations in Pakistan and knowing what a company should be eligible to be listed. We then read through the prospectus of BFAL to determine how the rules were adhered to in the actual deal. We performed simplified exercises in financial analysis to assess the structure of the company and the valuation of the company based on multiples and the discounted cash flow. We also had a look at the structure of the board of directors and governance policies to understand how companies enhance their internal controls prior to going public. Lastly we practiced formal listing preparations like writing of necessary forms, making of refund lists and writing of mock announcements. Key lessons of the ELP are that we have a better understanding of the capital market regulations, IPO pricing systems, and the role of various stakeholders such as regulators, sponsors, advisors and investors. We also got to know how confidence in the market is created using transparency, documentation and good governance. The live book building and the mock simulations gave us a hands on experience of how things are done in the background during a public offering.

Major learnings from the ELP include an improved understanding of capital market rules, IPO pricing mechanisms, and the roles of different stakeholders including regulators, sponsors, advisors, and investors. We also learned how market confidence is built through transparency, proper documentation, and good governance. Through the live book building and mock simulations, we got a practical view of what goes on behind the scenes during a public offering.

In conclusion, this project allowed us to explore investment banking in action, particularly in the area of equity capital markets. Although we did not work on a live deal, the project gave us exposure to every step of the IPO process using real-world examples and documents. This experience not only added to our technical understanding of how IPOs work in Pakistan, but also showed how detailed and regulated the process is. The learning will be useful for any future role in corporate finance or capital markets, and also helped us understand the importance of compliance, documentation, and market readiness when taking a company public.

Document Type

Restricted Access

Document Name for Citation

Experiential Learning Project

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