Malaysians eager for a slice of Facebook Inc’s US$100 billion (RM302 billion) initial public offering (IPO) will be able to purchase shares only after the company is listed on the American exchange.
As the IPO is open to applicants with an American address, Malaysians are excluded from the bidding process — unless they have recourse to individuals in the US.
Explaining this hurdle, an OSK Holdings Bhd e-broking unit spokesperson said there will be no problems for Malaysian investors interested to buy Facebook or any shares on American bourses once the listing is done.
“OSK will be able to facilitate the purchase of Facebook shares after the IPO. Interested customers can purchase shares via OSK’s online trading portal, OSK 188.
“All they need to do is to open up a trading account online and they will then have access to the NYSE, Nasdaq or Amex through OSK188.
com and can then proceed to purchase the share that is being offered in each of the exchange.
“If the transaction is confirmed, the share will be owned by the customer. A contract note will be issued to the customer for that share transaction. This is all done online through OSK188.”
In its filing on Wednesday, Facebook says it is seeking to raise US$5 billion, but analysts estimate it could tap investors for US$10 billion — which would be the fourth-largest in US history after Visa Inc, General Motors, and AT&T Wireless.
That would value the company at US$100 billion, dwarfing storied tech giants such as Hewlett Packard Co. Facebook says it has 845 million active monthly users.
