Abu Dhabi’s stock market was long viewed as a minor Gulf exchange, garnering little attention outside the region — a reflection of the relatively small private sector in the oil-rich emirate that has long been dominated by the state.
But in less than four years its market capitalisation has almost quintupled to more than $650bn, a surge largely driven by the extraordinary rise of one stock — International Holding Company.
Chaired by one of the United Arab Emirates’ most powerful figures, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan, IHC has been transformed from a $200mn firm with interests in fish farms and real estate into a conglomerate with more than 400 subsidiaries and a market capitalisation of $236bn — bigger than Walt Disney, McDonald’s or L’Oréal.
Its weight rises to $324bn, or half the market, when combined with eight listed subsidiaries, including the $65bn Alpha Dhabi.
The transformation has mystified bankers and analysts, who have raised concerns about transparency and the blurring of the private sector, the state and the ruling family at a time when Abu Dhabi is seeking to use its oil windfall to burnish its credentials as regional finance hub.
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