Georgian PM Irakli Garibashvili attended at the London Stock Exchange (LSE) initial public offering of TBC Bank on June 11.

TBC Bank, which has become the second Georgian company to be listed on LSE, raised USD 239 million at IPO, giving it a market value of USD 640 million. Last week TBC Bank said that offer price was set at USD 13 per global depositary receipts (GDR); in May indicative price range was set at USD 13 to USD 16 per GDR. The bank said that it would direct net proceeds from the offer towards intended growth of its loan portfolio in the retail, small and medium enterprise and microfinance segments.

“Success of this transaction repeatedly proves that investors are convinced that environment in Georgia is stable, predictable and potential for sustainable growth is in place,” PM Garibashvili said.

TBC’s rival, Bank of Georgia (BoG) was the first Georgian company to list its shares in a form of GDR on LSE in 2006; then President Mikheil Saakashvili attended BoG’s IPO at LSE. BoG took premium LSE listing in early 2012.

TBC and BoG, Georgia’s two largest banks, control about 60% of loans and deposits, nearly six times more than that of the next largest bank.