Markets UAE capital markets partner with Hong Kong exchange The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE) has added the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) to its roster of recognised marketplaces. The move opens the door for UAE-based companies to pursue secondary listings on one of Asia’s premier financial markets. It also follows the inclusion of the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul) […] July 26, 2024
Finance Egypt to float Suez Canal subsidiary next year Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority (SCA) is planning to list Canal Mooring & Lights Company, a specialist in the mooring and unmooring of ships, on the local bourse, a news report said. The proposed listing will take place early next year, Bloomberg Ashraq reported, quoting SCA’s chairman Osama Rabie. In June 2023, the official confirmed the […] July 17, 2024
Markets Abu Dhabi National Hotels hires banks for catering unit IPO Abu Dhabi National Hotels, which trades on the Abu Dhabi stock exchange, has appointed banks to work on the initial public offering of its catering business, according to a news report. Citigroup and First Abu Dhabi Bank will oversee on the flotation of ADNH Catering, raising between $300 million and $400 million, Bloomberg reported, citing […] July 17, 2024
Analysis Markets Healthcare sector props up Gulf IPOs in 2024 The healthcare sector has emerged as a significant contributor of initial public offerings in the Gulf region during the first half of 2024, according to a report by the Kuwait Financial Centre, known as Markaz. This comes despite an overall decline in new listings. However, Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hokail Academy Specialized Digital Polyclinics Company cancelled its […] July 16, 2024
Real Estate Omani fund targets commercial assets after IPO Jabal Real Estate Investment Fund has targeted a swathe of commercial assets in Oman after officially listing on the Muscat Stock Exchange. The company, which has a capital portfolio of OR17 million ($45 million), is considering an office building and a warehousing complex in the sultanate. No further details were given, although both properties boast […] July 11, 2024
Finance Hong Kong’s Animoca considers Gulf bourses Animoca Brands, a major Web3 and crypto gaming company valued at nearly $6 billion, is considering a public listing in 2025, with the Gulf and Hong Kong as potential venues. The company’s investors include heavyweights such as Singapore’s Temasek Holdings and the Saudi Arabia government’s Neom project, which injected $50 million into it last year. […] July 5, 2024
EXCLUSIVE Markets Hajj company to float in Saudi – with London listing to follow Saudi Arabia’s Ithraa Alkhair Company for Pilgrims Services, a licensed provider of Hajj services for non-Arab African pilgrims, is preparing to launch the first IPO in the kingdom’s religious tourism sector. The company, part of the Ithraa Group, will float an 11 percent stake to institutional investors on the Nomu parallel market, chairman Dr Ahmed […] July 5, 2024
Video length: 05:09 VIDEO Markets Dubai and Abu Dhabi need some IPO diversity “You want your capital markets to be a mirror of your economy on the ground,” says Saad Chalabi, CEO of brokerage platform xCube. In the UAE, however, that has not been the case. The markets in Dubai and Abu Dhabi are “mostly real estate and banking in terms of weight”, though more oil, utilities and […] July 4, 2024
EXCLUSIVE Markets Gulf IPOs: what companies must do to go public Owners of private Gulf companies mulling going public should ensure their businesses have a compelling narrative to tell investors and clear separation between shareholders and management, according to the chief financial officer of Dubai-based retailer Spinneys. In May the supermarket chain became the first company registered in the offshore Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC) to […] July 3, 2024
Opinion Economy UAE economic report: good, but can do even better Equity markets and inflation require some extra effort July 1, 2024
Markets Fourth Milling to offload 30% in IPO on Saudi bourse Saudi Arabia’s market regulator has approved the flotation of another milling company on the local bourse. Fourth Milling Company (MC4) will sell 162 million shares, or 30 percent of its share capital, through an initial public offering (IPO). The approval is valid for six months and will be deemed cancelled if the offering and listing […] June 27, 2024
Education Alef Education IPO 39 times oversubscribed Orders totalling more than $20 billion were placed at the IPO of Abu Dhabi’s Alef Education this week, leaving it 39 times over-subscribed. The company raised AED1.9 billion ($515 million) in its initial public offering, the company said on Thursday. It will become the first education technology business to list on a UAE stock exchange. […] June 6, 2024
Analysis Oil & Gas Early demand is strong for Aramco’s $13bn share sale The Saudi oil giant Aramco’s secondary share offering opens to retail investors today in a sale that could bring huge dividend payouts if they set aside concerns over flagging oil prices and regional political tensions. Institutional investors covered the offer within a few hours on Sunday, but reports say Aramco is planning events in Britain […] June 3, 2024
Markets Aramco to raise up to $13bn from new share offering Saudi Aramco confirmed on Thursday that it aims to raise up to $13 billion in a secondary public offering next month, as Riyadh seeks out new sources of funding to finance its portfolio of giga-projects. The world’s largest oil producer will sell a 0.64 percent stake, or 1.545 billion shares, in an offering that will commence on […] May 31, 2024
Markets Stock prices of Gulf companies surge after IPOs Most Gulf companies that completed initial public offerings (IPOs) recently have seen their market capitalisation soar, with issuers pricing flotations adroitly to bolster investor demand for their stocks after listing. From the start of 2023 there have been 20 Gulf IPOs that raised at least $100 million. Combined, these sold $11.2 billion of shares. As […] May 28, 2024
Markets Smasco market cap to hit $800m on Saudi listing Smasco, the Saudi Manpower Solutions Company, has set its final initial public offering (IPO) price at SAR7.50 per share, giving it a market capitalisation of SAR3 billion ($800 million) at listing. The company will offer 120 million shares, or a 30 percent stake, raising SAR900 million from the listing. This month, the indicative price range […] May 20, 2024
Finance Aluminium producer Talco announces Saudi IPO Aluminium producer Al Taiseer Group Talco Industrial Company (Talco) is the latest entity to reveal initial public offering (IPO) plans in Saudi Arabia. The Riyadh-based company, which was set up in 2009, is offering 12 million shares, a 30 percent stake, on the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul) at a nominal value of SAR10 ($2.67) per share. […] May 17, 2024
Education Dubai’s Amanat moves ahead with education platform IPO Amanat Holdings is planning for a potential initial public offering (IPO) of its education platform. The Dubai-listed healthcare and education investment company aims to monetise its education platform by creating a new holding company. Advisors have been appointed to explore the monetisation options to unlock significant shareholder value, the company said in a Dubai Finanical Market filing […] May 16, 2024
Markets Saudi Arabia dominates Mena Q1 public listings Saudi Arabia dominated public listings in the region in the first quarter of the year and maintains a “healthy pipeline” of IPOs for the remainder of 2024. Nine companies were brought to market in Saudi Arabia during the opening three months, according to the latest report from global consultants EY. The kingdom’s largest, and the […] May 10, 2024
Aviation Etihad weighs options to buy directly from planemakers Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways is exploring the option of buying a limited number of new aircraft directly from Airbus and Boeing, utilising the available delivery slots that have been canceled or rescheduled by other airlines. However, the state-backed airline’s CEO Antonoaldo Neves has no plans to place a “large order”, Reuters reported. “I’m a big believer […] May 7, 2024
Finance Saudi fintech Rasan to sell 30% stake in IPO Saudi Arabia’s Rasan will be the first fintech to sell a 30 percent stake in an initial public offering (IPO) on the local stock exchange. The company will sell 22.7 million shares in the flotation, which includes 5.3 million new shares. Book building for institutional investors will start on May 12 to 16, while bids […] May 6, 2024
Markets Institutions snap up share of Fakeeh Care Group IPO in minutes Institutional investors snapped up their slice of shares in the Saudi healthcare conglomerate Fakeeh Care Group within minutes of the start of the book-building process for the company’s IPO. Fakeeh Care Group, which was founded in Jeddah in 1978, has set the price range for its initial public offering (IPO) at between SAR53 ($14.13) and […] May 2, 2024
