Latham Advises on Merdeka Gold Resources’ Secondary Listing of HDRs

Latham & Watkins has advised the joint sponsors and underwriters on the secondary listing of Hong Kong Depositary Receipts (HDRs) by PT Merdeka Gold Resources Tbk (MGR), the owner and operator of the Pani Gold Mine and a majority‑owned subsidiary of PT Merdeka Copper Gold Tbk, on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (HKEX). The offering is composed of 89.7 million HDRs (100% secondary) at a price of HK$26.6 per HDR, subject to reallocation and the exercise of the over‑allotment option. Each HDR represents 10 ordinary shares of MGR traded on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX).

The transaction is the first dual listing in Hong Kong by an IDX‑listed issuer and the first HDR offering on the exchange in over a decade, representing a landmark cross‑border capital markets transaction that opens a new corridor between Southeast Asian issuers and Hong Kong’s international investor base. It also represents Latham’s culmination of efforts over the past couple of years advising HKEX on the legal aspects of facilitating dual listings by Indonesian companies.

UBS and CITIC Securities are joint sponsors, and UBS, CLSA, Morgan Stanley, and HSBC are the overall coordinators on the transaction.

The Latham team was led by Hong Kong partner Terris Tang, with Singapore partner Sharon Lau, counsel Jeremy Wang, Hong Kong associates Alex Lai, Marie Lim, Chimmy Tao, and Lizzy Zhang, and Singapore associate Jeffy Katio. Advice was also provided on regulatory matters by Hong Kong partner Simon Hawkins, with associate Adrian Fong.

Hong Kong partner Michael Hardy also advised on dual listing and financial market infrastructure matters.