Saudi IPO in COVID; Amlak International offers its share on Tadawul

Saudi Arabian real estate finance company Amlak International opened up it’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) yesterday allowing the Saudi public to purchase its share on the open market. It was the first initial public offering by a Saudi Arabian firm since the dawn of coronavirus. 

The public offering constitutes about 10 percent of the 27.18 million shares Amlak has chosen to make available in the open market which accounts for 30 percent of its $241.54 million capital valuation.

The activity was part of the Saudi firm’s second phase of its share sale to retail investors after an oversubscribed institutional offering earlier. Amlak is offering close to 2.7 million shares to individual investors at a share price of $4.27.

Individual buyers can purchase anywhere between 10 nos to 1 million shares through the receiving agents, the National Commercial Bank, Bank Al Jazira, Saudi Investment Bank and Al Rajhi Bank. The company is expected to run the IPO till July 5 while any surplus shares purchase would be refunded on July 14.

Amlak’s is the first IPO in the GCC Region since the coronavirus outbreak. The firm’s CEO, Abdullah Al-Sudairy has earlier stated in a media interview that the IPO represented a vote of confidence by the public and investors in the long-term fundamentals of the business and the whole economy.

“Amlak was widely rumored to be considering the market initiative earlier this year before the pandemic broke on the world. That put the plans on hold for a while, but the decision to go ahead with it now represents a vote of confidence in the business, in the fundamentals of the Saudi economy, and in the Kingdom’s financial markets.”

Investor interest in the Saudi mortgage remains strong despite the evidently unfavorable global economic backdrop following a government initiative to boost homeownership in the Kingdom.