Banking and Finance Dubai utility provider approves $1.3bn dividend payout Shareholders of state-owned utility provider Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) have approved the payment of total dividends of AED4.77 billion ($1.30 billion) as of April 20, 2023. The 12-month dividend yield for shareholders stands at 6.3 percent, considering the IPO price of AED2.48 per share, state-run WAM news agency reported Shareholders must be on […] April 11, 2023
Banking and Finance Gulf IPO market could ride out global jitters with state offerings A wave of initial public offerings in Abu Dhabi shows little sign of abating, despite global market jitters and rising interest rates as investors bet on the emirate’s part-privatisation drive. While Saudi Arabia and Dubai’s bourses have also offered a flurry of new listings over the past 18 months, it’s the UAE capital that is […] April 11, 2023
UK pharma startup targets Gulf for future IPO UK pharmaceutical startup Ambrose Healthcare has revealed plans for a stock market listing in the Middle East. Ambrose Healthcare aims to provide treatments for rare diseases and address the unmet needs of patients in hospital or specialist care facilities. The Cambridge-based company is undertaking a six-month “small fundraising” of £1 million, and has so far […] April 10, 2023
Banking and Finance AD Ports Group signs $2bn financing deal AD Ports Group has signed a $2 billion financing agreement with a syndicate of 13 regional and international banks, it announced in a bourse statement on Tuesday. Part of Abu Dhabi investment and holding company ADQ, AD Ports Group has a portfolio of ports, economic zones, logistics and digital businesses driving the growth of international […] April 4, 2023
Analysis Desalination spend on the rise in race against water crisis The UAE’s minister of climate change and the environment is clear about the importance of desalination, the process of removing salt from seawater. Speaking at the United Nations Water Conference in New York last week, Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri quoted the country’s founder, the late Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan, when she declared: “Water is not […] March 28, 2023
Markets Al Ansari raises $210m in IPO as order book nears $3.5bn UAE-based remittance and foreign exchange house Al Ansari Financial Services has raised AED773 million ($210.5 million) in its initial public offering (IPO) after setting the offering price at AED 1.03 per share. The order book stood at more than AED12.7 billion ($3.46 billion), meaning it was 22 times oversubscribed. Dubai-based Shariah-compliant savings scheme provider National […] March 27, 2023
Banking and Finance Adnoc lines up another unit for Abu Dhabi listing Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (Adnoc) plans to launch an initial public offering of its maritime and logistics unit in June, Reuters reported, in what will be the government-owned conglomerate’s latest flotation of an ancillary business. Adnoc’s part-privatisation drive began in 2017. It has sold minor stakes in subsidiaries Adnoc Drilling, Adnoc Gas, Adnoc Distribution, […] March 24, 2023
Economy Dubai hires half a million more white-collar workers in four years Dubai is welcoming an increasing number of white-collar workers as the emirate evolves towards a knowledge-based economy, with an increased emphasis on the financial sector. Between 2018 and 2022, the number of workers employed in the UAE business and finance sector grew by half a million. At the same time, the number of construction workers […] March 24, 2023
Banking and Finance Assets under management at ADGM rise by over 50% Abu Dhabi Global Market saw its assets under management increase by 56 percent year-on-year in 2022 as the authority became the fastest growing international financial centre in the region. Total licence issues for financial and non-financial firms increased by 30 percent from 4,262 companies in 2021 to 5,546 in 2022, according to figures released on […] March 20, 2023
Markets Saudi Arabia to introduce SPAC listings Saudi Arabia plans to allow special-purpose acquisition companies, also known as SPACs, to list on the kingdom’s bourse, a top official told a conference this week. These entities raise money through an initial public offering (IPO) and then use the proceeds to acquire other companies. SPACs were seen as a simpler, quicker and more effective […] March 17, 2023
Exclusive Markets Presight to use IPO as springboard to global expansion Big data and analytics company Presight is targetting international expansion once they have listed later this month. The firm, part of Abu Dhabi’s G42, plans to raise $495 million from its floating on the ADX. The subscription period for the initial public offering (IPO), which was 136 times oversubscribed, closed on Friday with a total […] March 17, 2023
Markets UAE exchange house Al Ansari seeks to raise over $210m in IPO UAE-based remittance and foreign exchange house Al Ansari Financial Services is seeking to raise up to AED772.5 million ($210.4 million) by listing on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM). Al Ansari, which announced an intention to float 10 percent of the company last week, will price its shares between AED1 and AED1.03, implying a valuation of […] March 17, 2023
Markets Bahrain’s VCBank lists Turkish F&B firm on Borsa Istanbul Bahrain’s Shariah-compliant Venture Capital Bank has listed Turkish food and beverage producer Goknur, its investee company, on the Borsa Istanbul exchange. A total of 79.25 million shares were offered to the public, which drew interests worth 6.9 billion liras ($364 million) and was 7.9 times oversubscribed. VCBank chief executive Robert C Wages said the market […] March 16, 2023
Energy Abu Dhabi’s Adnoc Gas shares up 18% on debut Shares of Adnoc Gas rose 18 percent above its listings price, as the state-backed oil giant made its debut on the Abu Dhabi stock market on Monday. The energy firm’s shares traded at AED2.8 ($0.7625), versus its initial public offering (IPO) price of AED2.37, according to Reuters. Adnoc raised $2.5 billion from the listing of […] March 13, 2023
EXCLUSIVE Banking and Finance BNY Mellon reports 245% rise in net flows into GCC equities BNY Mellon clients’ net investments in GCC shares rocketed by 245 percent from 2019 through to the end of 2022, America’s oldest bank told AGBI. Over this three-year period, the bank’s clients have poured $1.2 billion into Gulf equities, “outpacing emerging developed markets and the Eurozone significantly”. The New York-headquartered bank did not supply yearly […] March 13, 2023
Banking and Finance Al Ansari to float 10% stake on Dubai stock market Al Ansari Financial Services has revealed plans to float 10 percent of the company on the Dubai Financial Market. The exchange house is making 750 million shares available through the initial public offering, each valued at one fil, with the subscription period running from March 16 to 24. The listing is scheduled to go live […] March 9, 2023
Analysis Markets Mena merger activity hits ‘unprecedented’ levels When Dubai-based headhunter Dulsco acquired Scottish energy personnel specialist Advance Global Recruitment this week, it was the latest deal in a mergers and acquisitions market that analysts say is growing at an “unprecedented” rate. The EY Middle East and North Africa M&A Insights 2022 report found that the Mena region – which historically records 500-600 […] March 8, 2023
Markets Oman’s Abraj Energy set to raise $498m via 49% stake sale Oman’s Abraj Energy Services, the oil and gas drilling business of state energy company OQ, has set its initial public offering price at 249 baizas per share, state-run Oman News Agency said. The company will, therefore, be valued at about $498 million. OQ is selling a 49 percent stake, equivalent to 377.39 million shares, of […] March 7, 2023
Israel’s Liquidity Group to support Gulf startups with $500m Liquidity Group, an Israel-based fintech and asset manager, is looking to provide $500 million this year to support startups in the UAE and across the Middle East. The company reached unicorn status last month, with fresh investment of $40 million from Japan’s MUFG at a valuation of $1.4 billion. Launched in 2018, Liquidity Group provides […] March 6, 2023
Markets Abu Dhabi’s G42 to list big data analytics arm Analytics firm Presight, part of Abu Dhabi’s artificial intelligence outfit G42, has announced plans to float on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. Ahead of the AED1.82 billion ($495.6 million) initial public offering, 1.36 billion new shares will be issued, representing 32 percent of the share capital of the company. Shares will be priced at AED1.34 […] March 6, 2023
Energy Adnoc Gas completes record-breaking $2.5bn ADX IPO Adnoc has raised $2.5 billion from the initial public offering of its gas business, recording the largest ever listing on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. Five percent of the company, or around 3.84 billion shares, were sold at AED2.37 ($0.64) per share, in the upper half of a range that began at AED2.25, according to […] March 3, 2023
Opinion Markets Regional IPOs, the ‘cannibal’ factor and irrational exuberance The listing of Adnoc Gas for $50 billion reveals the strength of regional IPOs in the Gulf March 3, 2023
