Two Firms List on UAE Bourses

Wednesday, 10 January 2007

DUBAI: Two companies listed their shares on two UAE bourses on Monday.

Dubai Refreshments Company (DRC) listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) while Abu Dhabi-based Arkan Building Materials Company PJSC listed its stock of Dh1.75 billion ($475.5 million) on Abu Dhabi Securities Market (ADSM).

DRC is the 47th listed company to list its shares on the DFM while Arkan is the 61st company to be listed in Abu Dhabi and the ninth company in the construction sector.

Arkan's share capital is Dh1.75 billion, issued at a nominal value of Dh1. The IPO was fully subscribed and the shares can be traded by UAE nationals only.

The capital raised will be used by the company to finance future expansion of its portfolio businesses - the Emirates Cement Factory in Al Ain and the Emirates Concrete Block Factories in Al Ain and Mafraq, and their investment projects related to its core business.

Rashed Al-Baloushi, acting director-general of ADSM, said: "More IPOs will give investors further opportunities to diversify and therefore spread their risk. This will help to enhance market stability, which will attract institutional investors to Abu Dhabi."

Arkan is 51 per cent own-ed by the General Holding Corporation (GHC), a corporation wholly-owned by the Government of Abu Dhabi.

Dubai Refreshments is classified within the "Consumer Staples" sector, which now includes four public joint stock companies.