- Al Ansari Financial Services, experienced a surge of 17% in its trading debut, indicating a promising trend for share sales in the Middle East. The company priced its initial public offering at 1.03 dirhams per share, which is the top end of the marketed IPO range and valued the firm at $2.1 billion. The stock reached as high as 20% before closing at 1.2 dirhams ($0.33).
- Dubai-based Al Ansari is among the few family-run businesses in the UAE to have listed publicly. In 2021, Dubai's IPO market raised over $8.5B, primarily through state-owned enterprises, as part of a broader strategy to increase trading volumes in the city and compete with IPO activity in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh.
Why it matters
More private and family-owned companies seem to be considering listing in Dubai, as evidenced by the strong demand for Al Ansari's IPO. The offering saw total demand of over 12.7 billion dirhams, including a 200 million-dirham investment from National Bonds Corp. Excluding the cornerstone investment, the IPO was oversubscribed by about 22 times.
