Bali United becomes first publicly listed soccer club in Southeast Asia

INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING (IPO) - JAKARTA. Bali United formally floated its shares on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) on Monday, becoming the first soccer club in Southeast Asia to list its shares on the stock market.

PT Bali Bintang Sejahtera, the company that manages the Bali-based club, listed two billion shares on the stock market under the ticker code BOLA, the Indonesian word for ball. Its share price opened at Rp 296 (2 US cents) or jumped 69.14 percent higher than its offering price of Rp 175.

The company raised Rp 350 billion from the listing and planned to use 60.5 percent of the funds for working capital. It also planned to use 20.4 percent of the money to increase the capital for its subsidiaries and the other 19.1 percent for his own capital expenditure.  

President director Yabes Tanuri told reporters that he hoped more people could support the club by buying its shares. “That way, they can help support us achieve our goals to take the country’s sports and entertainment industry to the next level,” he said

Meanwhile, acting chief of the Indonesia Soccer Association (PSSI), Iwan Budianto, lauded the club’s listing, saying that it showed that the country’s soccer industry was thriving.

He also hoped that other soccer clubs would follow Bali United’s footsteps as it could benefit their clubs’ brands and make their management more professional.