#Saudi Stock Exchange Seeks to Raise Up to $1 Billion in IPO - Bloomberg

Saudi Stock Exchange Seeks to Raise Up to $1 Billion in IPO - Bloomberg

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Saudi Arabia is keeping the home fires burning for regional public offerings, readying what could be the biggest sale of shares by a stock-exchange operator since Euronext NV.

Saudi Tadawul Group Holding is seeking to raise as much as $1 billion after setting the price range for an initial public offering at 95 riyals ($25.32) to 105 riyals per share, the company said in a statement Sunday. The Riyadh-based bourse, on which oil giant Saudi Aramco trades, plans to sell a 30% stake, or 36 million shares.

The offering comes amid a global IPO boom, with companies around the world raising a record of more than $600 billion this year. Against that backdrop, Saudi Arabia has been among the leaders in the Middle East, listing private and family-owned concerns as well as companies such as ACWA Power International, backed by the kingdom’s wealth fund, and Saudi Telecom Co.’s internet-services unit. Neighboring Abu Dhabi and Dubai have been stepping up efforts as well.

“This will surely keep investors on Tadawul excited,” said Junaid Farooq, a fund manager at Frontier Investment Management Partners Ltd. in Dubai. “Government policy is highly supportive of private businesses listing on the exchange and there are over 60 planned IPOs in the pipeline over the next three years.”