Jakarta. Nickel miner Adhi Kartiko Pratama's (NICE) shares surged by 23.29 percent to Rp 540 during its debut at the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX).

A total of 229.14 million shares worth Rp 119.85 billion ($7.72 million) exchanged hands on the first session of trading on Tuesday.

NICE offered 20 percent of its shares at Rp 438 per share, generating proceeds of Rp 532.78 billion. The company achieved a market capitalization of Rp 2.66 trillion on Tuesday. Throughout the public offering process, investor interest was high, leading to oversubscription at 15.72 times.

"We are grateful that NICE's IPO went smoothly and was successful, thanks to the support from management, employees, capital market supporting institutions and professions, capital market investors, as well as guidance from the Financial Services Authority (OJK) and the IDX," said President Director of NICE, Stevano Rizki Adranacus, on Tuesday.

KB Valbury Sekuritas, Trimegah Sekuritas Indonesia, and UOB Kay Hian Sekuritas acted as the underwriters.

Following its listing on the IDX, NICE will be controlled by South Korea's LX International Corp through Energy Battery Indonesia.

LX International Corp will acquire 60 percent of NICE shares from existing shareholders at Rp 438 per share, equivalent to the IPO price, amounting to Rp 1.59 trillion.

LXI CEO Yoon Chun-sung announced its intention to acquire an Indonesian nickel mine with an investment of KRW 133 billion in November, as the company is shifting from coal to essential minerals, aligning with the growing demand for electric vehicle batteries.

AKP's mine is located near the Morowali Industrial Zone in Sulawesi, covering 2,000 hectares, seven times the size of Yeouido Island in Seoul. With verified ore reserves of 36 million tons out of a total resource of 51.4 million tons, the mine is poised to supply resources for over 7 million electric vehicles.

LXI aims to boost AKP's nickel annual production from 1.5 million tons to 3.7 million tons by 2028. LXI holds the rights to acquire the entire production output based on the offtake agreement.

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