Shares of family-owned UAE exchange Al Ansari Financial Services surge in Dubai trading debut
Timilehin Adejumobi
2 min read
Al Ansari Financial Services made its trading debut on the Dubai Financial Market Thursday. Shares surged over 17% for the family-owned remittances and money exchange firm, which marks the first IPO for Dubai this year.
The Al Ansari family sold 750 million shares in the offering, which is equal to a 10% stake in the company.
Al Ansari Financial Services’ Group CEO Rashed Ali Al Ansari told CNBC’s Dan Murphy the sheer size of the organization pushed the company to decide to list publicly.
“We were extremely pleased that there was a great acceptance from the market, this shows they very much trust in the growth story of the company,” he said.
The share sale, which raised up to $210 million, is one of the first for a family-owned firm in the United Arab Emirates. That figure puts the company’s valuation at $2.1 billion.
Family businesses make up 90% of private companies in the UAE, and going public is a big part of the government’s push to diversify the economy and attract international investment. In 2021, Dubai announced a listing of 10 state entities which aims to double the size of the Emirate’s capital market to $817 billion.
The Al Ansari Financial Services IPO follows two massive Abu Dhabi listings. The first, Adnoc Gas, raised $2.5 billion and was the biggest share sale this year. There are at least eight more companies in line to list in the UAE capital alone, putting Abu Dhabi in first place in the Gulf’s IPO push.
This report’s information was first seen on CNBC; to read more, click this link.
