Nahdi Medical IPO Surges on Trading Debut in Biggest #Saudi Listing Since Aramco - Bloomberg

Nahdi Medical IPO Surges on Trading Debut in Biggest Saudi Listing Since Aramco - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia’s largest pharmacy retail chain soared on its trading debut after raising $1.36 billion in the kingdom’s biggest share sale since Aramco.

Nahdi Medical Co. rose as much as 21% to 158 riyals ($42.12) at 10:05 a.m. in Riyadh. The company had sold shares at 131 riyals, the top end of its planned price range.

While Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has roiled equity markets around the world, the main bourses in the energy-rich Persian Gulf have proved resilient -- in large part because of the jump in oil prices to more than $100 a barrel.

Tuesday’s surge underscores how investors continue to clamor for IPOs in Saudi Arabia. Nahdi, one of many family-owned businesses listing on the kingdom’s exchange, had demand for all shares on offer hours after books opened, Bloomberg reported earlier this month.

Nahdi’s IPO is the largest listing in the kingdom since Saudi Aramco raised almost $30 billion in 2019. ACWA Power International raised $1.2 billion last year in what was then the kingdom’s biggest deal since Aramco.

This is already the busiest first quarter on record for Saudi Arabian listings and more share sales are likely to follow. The kingdom’s Tadawul All Share Index is up 14% this year in dollar terms, making it the seventh best performing gauge in the world.