Felda Global Ventures : Submerging a flotation

A major stock market debut goes unremarked.

The Site

Felda Global Ventures, the Malaysia-based third-biggest global operator of palm oil plantations, let its high-profile IPO go unremarked on the day.

Felda Global Ventures listed on Bursa Malaysia (formerly known as the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange) on 28 June. The floatation, the world’s largest of 2012 after Facebook, generated substantial global press and investor interest, with the share price rising 20 per cent on the first day of trading. However, during the evening (Malaysia time) of the IPO, the Bursa Announcements page of the Investor Relations section offered nothing but the message: “We are updating content for this section. Sorry for the inconvinience [sic].” The same message also appeared, with no other content, on the Share Price and Annual Reports pages.

The site’s Media Centre also lacked information. On the evening of the IPO there was no information about, or acknowledgement of, it on the Media Centre landing page. The most recent press release there was dated April 15 2012.

The Takeaway

Management teams often find the transition from private ownership to a public listing a culturally and logistically difficult one – especially when it comes to investor communications. By failing to provide up to date financial and media information on its website in the hours after its headline-grabbing IPO, Felda Global Ventures missed a valuable opportunity to tell its side of the story to the world’s investors, analysts and journalists on one of the most important days of the company’s life.

The fact that a search of the site for ‘IPO’ does find a substantial FAQ leaflet buried outside the main sections is a further demonstration of the lack of coordination between online and other communications channels. It suggests the company is not unaware of the website as a means of reaching a global investor audience but discounts its importance.

First published on 28 June, 2012