Mubasher: KBW Investments may implement an initial public offering (IPO) for its shares over the coming period, the firm’s founder and chairman Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal told CEO Middle East in an interview.
We are considering this listing as the KBW Investments’ real estate portfolio has seen strong positive performance lately along with major expansions, bin Talal added.
An IPO is “definitely on the table for part of our companies. I can’t say which ones yet, because we’re still in the early stages, but it’s definitely a possibility,” the chairman indicated, noting that he was not considering an IPO for his second portfolio KBW Ventures.
Based out of Dubai, KBW Investments’ property portfolio encompasses several real estate leaders such as Sharjah developer Arada along with Raimondi Cranes, just to name a few.
On a separate note, bin Talal revealed that his company was planning to launch projects in Saudi Arabia and Dubai in the next three to four years.
Regarding the Saudi project, Prince Khaled said it would be on the medium-term and cited Asir, the Eastern Province, Qassim, and Tabuk among the regions for the expansion.
Speaking about his home country, bin Talal said: “Saudi Arabia is the biggest market in the region. It really calls for the type of product we are developing here – there’s a lack of it in Saudi Arabia,” referring to the Nasma Residences project in Sharjah.
KBW Investments’ Sharjah development is a multi-phase villa project that is expected to sell-out by the end of 2018.
“We’d love to give people [in Saudi Arabia] more room to breathe, have the ability to have a bigger space but at a more affordable price. That’s why, even in Sharjah, we’re extremely competitive when it comes to pricing,” he went on.
Prince Khalid expects Arada to be the company to develop KWB Investments’ project in Saudi Arabia.
“It’s not etched in stone, but I would say we’ll announce something end of 2020, beginning of 2021. We’ll definitely announce something – Saudi Arabia is opening up tremendously. Visa processes are more hassle-free, the opening up of the Saudi market for GCC owners as well as foreign owners is something that’s really encouraging for us as a real estate company,” he stated in the interview.
Returning to the IPO, bin Talal said it would make more sense to launch the stake sale once the Saudi projects are launched.
