Olam unit’s dual IPO awaits nod from Saudi regulators

Singapore’s Olam Group does not expect the $1 billion initial public offering of its agricultural unit, Olam Agri Holdings, to be completed in the first half of 2023.

The company, which planned to launch a dual IPO of the unit in Singapore and Saudi Arabia, said that it is yet to receive regulatory approvals from the Middle Eastern country, adding that prevailing market conditions have also led to the decision to delay the listing.

Olam did not provide an approximate time frame for the IPO and said that there is no assurance that it will materialise.

The IPO would make Olam Agri the first foreign company that is not incorporated in a Gulf Cooperation Council country to be listed in Saudi Arabia.

If it is completed, it will be the first such dual listing in the world.

The dual listing would also solidify southeast Asia as a global IPO hot spot. The region is the only part of the Asia-Pacific region, excluding Japan, where the IPO market has grown this year, rising 4.5 percent to $2.23 billion, according to Refinitiv data.