Mawarid Finance plans to list its shares on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) in the second quarter of this year, a top official from the company said.
Mohamed Ali Musabbeh Al Neaimi, CEO of Mawarid, told Emirates Business that the Islamic financial institution has complied with the procedures necessary to convert from a private joint stock company into a public shareholding company.
"As per my estimates, we should be listed between the second and third quarters, maximum," he said. "The board has already decided to proceed with the listing. This is our third year. In the past two years we have exceeded the requirement by law in terms of profitability and we distributed cash as well."
But unlike usual listings, Mawarid would only offer shares to the public a day or a week after it is listed. Al Neaimi said: "The law in the UAE mandates to go for an initial public offering first, however, it also mandates that any Islamic financial institution should be publicly held. It cannot be private. We had an exemption from the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank to be a private share holding company. Now we want that exemption to be lifted."
He said offering 25 to 30 per cent to non-local investors is a likely possibility. Mawarid has 350 investors, with shareholders owning not more than five per cent each of the capital and no individual shareholder's stake exceeding 2.5 per cent. It was established in Dubai as a private joint stock company towards the end of 2006 with a paid-up capital of Dh1 billion.
By Karen Remo-Listana
© Emirates Business 24/7 2010
