As many as five companies in the UAE may sell shares to the public this year, including an insurer that may list in the first quarter, said Abdullah Al Turaifi, chief executive of the Securities & Commodities Authority.
“A company in the field of insurance will have an initial public offering within the first quarter,” he told reporters in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. “We hope that more than one company will also have initial public offerings in the field of services” during the first three months.
The sales would mark a revival of initial public offerings in the country after companies refrained from listing their shares in 2010 due to the global financial crisis. Axiom, a Dubai-based mobile-telephone retailer, in December cancelled a share offering to raise at least $100m, citing “widespread concerns about market conditions and liquidity.”
Four or five companies are expected to list their shares in more than one emirate of the seven-member UAE federation, Al Turaifi said.
The regulator also “hopes” to approve a law this year allowing short-selling, Al Turaifi said. The authority “would welcome” a merger or a meeting between the exchanges in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, he said.
Follow us on
