Opinion Markets Frogs, dogs and elephants – the zoology of business talk Sometimes only an animal analogy will do to describe complex corporate concepts January 19, 2024
EXCLUSIVE Education Taaleem aims to double revenues after 60% profit rise Taaleem, the UAE schools operator, plans to double its revenues by 2028 by opening “at least one school every two years”, managing more government schools and diversifying into early years, its chief executive told AGBI. The company, which has low debt, has yet to deploy the proceeds of its AED750 million ($204 million) initial public […] January 16, 2024
Banking & Finance Class action lawsuit against Saudi builder approved A class action lawsuit against a Saudi construction company has been given the green light to proceed by authorities. The Capital Market Authority said the Committee for the Resolution of Securities Disputes (CRSD) has accepted the lawsuit filed by an investor against some members of the board and employees of Mohammad Al Mojil Group. The […] January 16, 2024
People & Lifestyle Aster DM plans dividend payout from Gulf unit sale India’s Aster DM Healthcare intends to distribute between 70 percent and 80 percent of the $903 million proceeds it will receive from selling its Gulf business. The company agreed in November 2023 to sell a majority stake in its Gulf business to Alpha GCC Holdings for $1 billion as part of a plan to separate […] January 16, 2024
Banking & Finance Dubai’s GII invests $160m in Saudi medical group Sharia-compliant asset management group Gulf Islamic Investments (GII) has invested $160 million (SAR 600 million) in Saudi Arabia’s Abeer Medical Group. Abeer is the largest affordable healthcare services provider in Saudi Arabia, operating 50 medical centres, clinics, hospitals, pharmacies, and optical centres across GCC countries and India. GII co-founder and co-CEO Mohammed Alhassan said the […] January 15, 2024
Health PureHealth acquires UK’s Circle Health for $1.2bn PureHealth, the largest healthcare platform in the Middle East, has acquired Circle Health Group, the UK’s largest operator of hospitals, for $1.2 billion, as part of its global expansion strategy. The deal completion achieved regulatory approvals in record time, the company said in a statement. “After investing in Ardent Health USA, this is PureHealth’s second […] January 15, 2024
Transport Porsche sales up 11% as Red Sea strife threatens deliveries Porsche “simply couldn’t find the ships” to get its cars from Germany to customers in the Middle East last year, leaving it with “really low inventory”, the company’s regional CEO told a media sales briefing on Friday. Those supply chain issues have been resolved, Manfred Braunl told reporters, but he warned that the ongoing crisis […] January 15, 2024
Retail UAE’s LuLu to build India’s largest shopping mall for $483m The UAE retail conglomerate LuLu Group is to develop India’s largest shopping mall, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, for an estimated cost of 40 billion rupees ($482.67 million). The construction for the proposed shopping mall will start this year, Asian News International (ANI) news agency reported, quoting comments by Yusuff Ali MA, chairman and managing director of […] January 14, 2024
Education Keen students enrol to bring Taaleem ‘record’ revenues Revenues at the UAE schools operator Taaleem grew by 11.5 percent to a record AED258.7 million ($70.4 million) in the first quarter of the 2023-2024 academic year ending November 30, compared to the same period in 2022-2023, it said on Friday. Taaleem, which listed on Dubai Financial Market stock exchange in November 2022, also posted […] January 12, 2024
Finance Avalon Pharma finalises price range for IPO Saudi Arabia’s Middle East Pharmaceutical Industries Company (Avalon Pharma) has set the offer price range for its proposed initial public offering (IPO). The price range has been set between SAR78 and SAR82 ($20.80-$21.87), the company said in a statement. The institutional book-building period will run from January 14 to 18. The home-grown pharmaceutical maker will […] January 12, 2024
Opinion Banking & Finance Investors go lukewarm on startups but Riyadh is red hot Rising inflation and interest rates plus economic slowdown resulted in investor hesitancy in 2023 January 8, 2024
Markets Shares in MBC rise 30% on Saudi Tadawul debut The share price of media company MBC Group rose by 30 percent as it made its debut on the Saudi stock exchange on Monday. The Saudi group’s initial public offering of a 10 percent stake last month was 17.6 times oversubscribed by retail investors, raising SAR1.46 billion ($390 million). At the opening bell of the […] January 8, 2024
Finance Avalon Pharma to float 30% in IPO on Saudi exchange Saudi Arabia’s Middle East Pharmaceutical Industries Company (Avalon Pharma) will proceed with an initial public offering (IPO) on the Saudi Exchange, with the book-building period running from January 14 to 18. The home-grown pharmaceutical maker will offer six million shares, or 30 percent of its issued share capital, with final pricing to be determined following the […] January 8, 2024
Analysis Finance Top 10 fintechs to watch in 2024 Fintechs are big business in the Middle East. An increasing number of financial companies are integrating technology into their services and products, meaning the market is forecast to treble from $1.5 billion in 2022 to $4.5 billion by 2025, according to McKinsey & Company. Here are 10 fintech firms to look out for in the coming […] January 3, 2024
Finance Value of Saudi bourse rises 14% to $3 trillion in 2023 The total market capitalisation of the Saudi stock exchange rose 14 percent year on year to SAR 11.26 trillion ($3 trillion) in 2023 on higher turnover value, the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul), the operator of the bourse, said in a report. The number of trades executed during the year rose 6.96 percent to 94.02 million from […] January 2, 2024
Finance New investors joining DFM rise 13% in 2023 The number of new investors at the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) increased 12.5 percent year on year to 57,054 in 2023. The growth was driven by several factors, including the strong momentum in the market following the listing of government and semi-government companies and the increasing popularity of online trading, the UAE state-run Wam news […] January 2, 2024
Finance eXtra to seek approval for consumer finance unit IPO Saudi retailer United Electronics Company (eXtra) plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) of its Shariah-compliant consumer finance business. United Company for Financial Services (Tasheel), which provides non-banking financial services to its clients, is owned by eXtra’s subsidiary, United International Holding Company. The IPO will be a “significant transaction” subject to the shareholders’ approval, […] January 1, 2024
Opinion Aviation Middle East aviation prepares for take-off in 2024 2023 has just been a starter. The really impressive stuff is yet to come December 26, 2023
Finance Egypt generates $5.6bn from stake sale in 14 companies Egypt’s privatisation programme has generated $5.6 billion from the sale of complete or partial stakes in 14 state-owned entities, according to Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is conducting preliminary studies for the potential inclusion of 50 additional state-owned companies under its initial public offering (IPO) programme, Egypt Today reported, citing Madbouly. […] December 25, 2023
Markets MBC raises $390m with oversubscribed IPO Saudi media company MBC Group’s IPO on the Saudi stock exchange was 17.6 times oversubscribed, raising SAR1.46 billion ($390 million). A minimum of nine shares were allocated to each subscriber and the remaining shares were distributed pro rata, according to a statement on stock market website Tadawul by lead manager and advisor HSBC Saudi Arabia, […] December 22, 2023
Construction Developer Jabal Omar plans debt-to-capital conversion Jabal Omar Development Company, one of the largest companies on the Saudi stock exchange, said this week it will settle around SAR547.5 million ($146 million) in debt owed to two companies by converting it into shares in a formal capital increase. The real estate developer builds and manages property in the pilgrimage city of Mecca. […] December 21, 2023
Transport Saudi low-cost airline Flynas to launch IPO Flynas, the Saudi carrier backed by Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, has hired consultants for a potential initial public offering (IPO) in Riyadh. The low-cost airline may go public as early as next year, Bloomberg reported, citing an airline statement. Goldman Sachs Group, Morgan Stanley and Saudi Fransi Capital will work on the IPO. […] December 21, 2023