By: Mahmoud Gamal
Dubai – Mubasher: After three years of stagnation, initial public offerings (IPOs) returned to the UAE’s markets with the offerings of Emaar Development’s and ADNOC Distribution’s shares.
Both IPOs yielded AED 8 billion amid strong buying trend by individuals and institutions.
That trend was not expected, it followed various reforms conducted by the UAE’s government bodies, said Wadah Al-Taha, member of the National Advisory Board of Chartered Institute for Securities and Investments (CISI).
ADNOC Distribution may not confine itself to the present IPO, and could offer the shares of another subsidiary, probably a fertilizer-production unit, Al-Taha added.
Additionally, some public firms may execute some postponed plans to launch IPOs, the analyst remarked.
The new IPOs attracted both national and foreign investors, Mena Corp financial analyst Issam Kassabieh told Mubasher.
ADNOC Distribution was a good test for the national market’s response to offerings of the state-run firms, which preceded the launch of Saudi Arabia’s Aramco’s IPO, Kassabieh explained.
By the end of the year, another stagnated market revived, as the second market of the Abu Dhabi Commercial Exchange (ADX) witnessed the listing of Al Qudra Holding, which made some observers more optimistic about new listings to follow suit.
Double-listing also joined the scene, with the listing of the Bahrain-listed Khaleeji Commercial Bank, a subsidiary of GFH Group, on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM).
Translated by: Muhammad Khalid
