Markets PIF to sell 10% stake in Saudi stock exchange owner Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is selling a 10 percent stake in Saudi Tadawul Group, the owner and operator of the kingdom’s stock exchange, via an accelerated bookbuild offering, according to a regulatory filing on Thursday. PIF, a sovereign wealth fund with over $600 billion in assets, has hired HSBC and Morgan Stanley to […] November 11, 2022
Dubai school operator Taaleem sets IPO price range Dubai schools operator Taaleem Holdings has announced a price range of between AED2.95 and AED3 ($0.80- 0.82) per share for its upcoming initial public offering. The company plans to list up to 25.32 percent of its share capital with the set price range implying a market capitalisation of between AED2.96 billion and AED3 billion at […] November 10, 2022
Markets Empower raises nearly $724 mln following book-building process Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower) has set the final offer price for its initial public offering (IPO) at AED 1.33 per share, at the top of the price range, raising nearly AED 2.7 billion ($724 million). This comes following the successful completion of the book-building and public subscription process for its IPO, the UAE […] November 10, 2022
Markets Saudi regulator gives nod to over $26.6bn capital increase requests Saudi Arabia’s market regulatory Capital Market Authority (CMA) has approved capital increase requests worth SAR 100 billion ($26.6 billion) from January 2018 until the end of the first half of 2022, Arab News reported. Some 116 firms applied to increase capital over the period, the CMA undersecretary for listed companies and investment products Abdullah bin […] November 6, 2022
Markets Dubai’s Empower shareholders mull raising IPO stake to 20% Shareholders of Dubai’s Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower) are considering increasing the size of the stake in the company being offered in an initial public offering to 20 percent, two sources said on Wednesday. They increased it to 15 percent from 10 percent on Tuesday, citing strong demand. The Gulf if experiencing an IPO […] November 3, 2022
Markets Saudi Arabia approves dual listing of Pizza Hut and KFC franchisee Saudi Arabia’s market regulator said on Monday it had approved a concurrent and dual listing of Americana Group, the Middle East and North Africa franchisee of fast-food chains KFC and Pizza Hut, in the kingdom and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Americana has approval to sell 30 percent of its shares, which will be the […] November 1, 2022
UAE’s Taaleem to raise $204m from IPO on Dubai bourse Taaleem Holdings, the UAE-based K-12 premium education provider with 26 schools, will launch an initial public offering on the Dubai Financial Market to raise AED 750 million ($204.19 million) to expand its network. The company will offer 10 percent of its shares to retail investors starting November 10 and 88 percent to professional investors on […] October 31, 2022
Markets Abu Dhabi’s Bayanat IPO draws robust demand of $15.65bn Bayanat, an Abu Dhabi-based provider of geographic data and analytics, said on Thursday it drew robust demand of AED 57.5 billion ($15.65 billion) for its initial public offering (IPO). Bayant is offering 22.22 percent of its share capital at AED1.1 per share, valuing the stake at AED628.6 million ($171.15m). Shares will begin trading on Monday. […] October 28, 2022
Analysis Banking & Finance Mena debt market slumps in year of Fed hikes and high oil prices Debt issuance has plunged in the Middle East and North Africa this year, with interest rate volatility deterring would-be issuers and oil exporters’ huge fiscal surpluses reducing their need to offer bonds or sukuk. Mena debt sales in the first nine months of 2022 were $18.3 billion, down 80 percent year-on-year and the lowest total […] October 25, 2022
Markets Saudi Arabia’s Alsulaiman Group weighs IPO of IKEA business Saudi Arabia’s Alsulaiman Group is weighing an initial public offering of its IKEA business franchise next year and has hired Moelis & Co as an adviser, two sources told Reuters. The company plans to invite investment banks early next year to pitch for roles in a possible public share-sale, said the sources, who declined to […] October 21, 2022
Markets Gulf countries defy global gloom with bond sale plans Saudi Arabia, Mubadala and Emirates NBD are preparing to sell bonds and sukuk, despite market volatility that has put off other issuers October 18, 2022
Banking & Finance Turkish central bank takes more steps to boost lira deposits Turkey’s central bank took fresh steps to boost lira deposits on Tuesday, raising the ratio of bonds that banks must hold for foreign exchange deposits and requiring those with less than 50 percent lira deposits to hold even more bonds from next year. The central bank raised the securities maintenance ratio required for forex deposits […] October 18, 2022
Markets Saudi oilfield services firm Arabian Drilling eyes $710m IPO Arabian Drilling Company, a Saudi oilfield services firm, said on Tuesday it will price its initial public offering at SAR 100 a share and is set to raise SAR 2.67 billion ($710.58 million). The final price is at the top end of a price range announced last month, which would value it at SAR 8.9 […] October 12, 2022
Markets Oman to list state-owned entities to boost sultanate’s capital market State-owned enterprises that are part of Oman Investment Authority (OIA) are gearing up for privatisation through listing on the Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX), the Oman Daily Observer said, citing bourse CEO Haitham bin Salim Al Salmi. The proposals are aimed at boosting the growth of the country’s capital market over the next five years. The […] October 9, 2022
UAE stocks buoyed by oil price rally on back of OPEC+ cuts Key stock markets in the UAE closed higher on Friday, tracking the rally in oil prices following the OPEC+ announcement late on Wednesday of a two million barrel per day (bpd) cut to its production quota from November. Dubai’s main share index DFMGI rose 0.7 percent. The Dubai bourse registered a weekly gain of over […] October 7, 2022
Markets Arabian Drilling IPO may fetch $710m as book-building starts Arabian Drilling Company, a Saudi oilfield services firm, will price its planned initial public offering (IPO) between SAR 90 ($23.89) and SAR 100 ($26.55) per share, HSBC Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday. HSBC Saudi Arabia, Goldman Sachs Saudi Arabia and SNB Capital are joint financial advisers, bookrunners and underwriters for the IPO, which could fetch […] September 29, 2022
Markets Qatar launches new initiative to boost stock market liquidity The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) tweeted on Tuesday that it launched a new market making initiative to boost liquidity at the Qatar Stock Exchange as part of a wider raft of reforms to attract foreign investors. The $445 billion sovereign wealth fund said that licensed market markets would be able to access some of QIA’s […] September 28, 2022
Analysis Banking & Finance UK tipped to see record levels of Middle East capital in 2022 Outbound investment from the Middle East to the UK is forecast to rise sharply this year, particularly for deals up to $250 million. Corporate finance specialist Lumina Capital Advisers said the strong dollar, weak sterling and the UK’s uncertain economic outlook made it a “highly attractive destination” for Middle East capital. Sterling tumbled to a […] September 26, 2022
Markets UAE health firm Burjeel to offer 11% stake in October IPO Abu Dhabi-based hospital operator Burjeel Holdings plans to offer an 11 percent stake in an initial public offering on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, the company said in a statement on Monday. Burjeel will be the first private company to be listed on the Abu Dhabi exchange since 2011. The company intends to offer about […] September 26, 2022
Markets Kuwait said to relocate control of $7bn fund from London Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) is planning to move the management of a $7 billion fund from London back to its home country, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The sovereign wealth fund will now oversee the satellite fund from its Kuwaiti headquarters instead of the London-based Kuwait Investment Office. However, the fund will […] September 23, 2022
Markets Salik’s $1bn IPO target ‘easily achievable’ after stake boost Dubai toll gate operator Salik’s decision to increase the number of shares offered in its initial public offering will yield lower stock price volatility, and the $1 billion the government aims to raise “seems easily achievable”, analysts have predicted. Salik Company announced on Friday that it has increased the size of the stake it is […] September 17, 2022
Markets Omani bourse eyes FTSE and MSCI emerging market status The Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX) is working on upgrading to the ‘Emerging Market’ stock exchange status as part of a five-year strategy to go private in five years through a listing, the Oman Daily Observer reported, citing CEO Haitham Al Salmi. He added that the bourse is currently focusing on reclassifying the market to enter […] September 13, 2022
