Al Ansari Financial Services experienced an upswing in the value of its shares after instituting 2023’s first Dubai IPO.
The shares of UAE remittances and money exchange firm Al Ansari Financial Services surged 17% in its initial public offering (IPOIPO) outing at its Dubai Financial Market trading debut. The family-owned company raised $210 million after selling 750 million shares in the offering, or 10% of its value.
The Al Ansari Financial Services development marks the first IPO for Dubai in 2023. The UAE government looks to diversify its economy as well as attract international investment. Al Ansari Financial Services’ $210 million share sale is also the first for a UAE family-owned business, with the company valued at $2.1 billion. The Investment Corporation of Dubai-owned UAE National Bonds Corp invested 200 million dirhams in the public share sale. This capital injection makes the sovereign wealth fund the cornerstone investor of Al Ansari Financial Services’ IPO.
Al Ansari Financial Services executes 126,000 transactions per day as a money exchange firm. In addition, the UAE-based financial remittance platform also boasts a strong customer base of 3 million entities.
Last October, a KPMG report said family-owned ventures make up approximately 60% of the Gulf region’s gross domestic product (GDP). In addition, this report stated that such businesses employ around 80% of the total workforce.
Al Ansari Financial Services Senior Executive Comments on IPO & Shares Prospects
Al Ansari Financial Services shares traded at 1.2 dirhams against an IPO price approaching the top of the 1.03-a-share indicative range. Amid this welcome development, Group chief executive Rashed Ali Al Ansari explained why the UAE company decided to list publicly. In a media session, Al Ansari said the financial services exchange pursued an IPO due to its size and perceived prominence. Furthermore, the Group CEO also added:
“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.”
Al Ansari is confident in the company’s success despite unyielding macroeconomic parameters such as a struggling global banking sector and rising inflation. The Al Ansari Financial Services head said his company hedged all perceived risks in pricing its shares. As he put it:
“We made sure that we priced it right, given the market conditions and the pressures that international economies are going through. We were very concerned in the beginning when we saw the pressures when we saw the Fed increasing rates; we have to compete with that.”
Gulf IPO Push
Al Ansari Financial Services’ IPO follows a pair of significant listings in Abu Dhabi, the first being the Adnoc Gas IPO. The public listing, which generated a staggering $2.5 billion, is the biggest Gulf share sale this year. Abu Dhabi is at the vanguard of the UAE’s IPO push this year and has at least eight more companies waiting to list in the capital city.
Middle East-based companies generated $21.9 billion via IPOs in 2022. This figure is more than half the total sum raised in the broader African and European regions.
next