Dubai restarts privatizations after a year with Taxi IPO
Also Read: Excitement and worry as stock options trading booms in India Dubai Taxi’s IPO will be the first share sale by the government in more than 12 months, after it raised $8.3 billion selling stakes in four state-owned companies in 2022, including the city’s main water and electricity utility. The IPOs are part of a plan unveiled about two years ago to list 10 state-owned companies in a bid to boost flagging trading volumes and catch up with IPO drives in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh. Dubai paused the listings this year, contributing to a drop in the overall IPO volumes in the Middle East.
Such transactions have raised $7.9 billion so far in 2023, a 54% drop year-on-year, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Still, the region is holding up as a bright spot for listings despite the war between Israel and Hamas and a gloomy environment for IPOs globally due to fears over high interest rates. The Oct.
7 attack by Hamas on Israel put investors on edge and caused a sharp drop in regional stocks, although many have since pared those losses. Dubai’s benchmark index is the best performer in the Gulf this year, rising almost 19% partly thanks to a jump in property shares. (Exciting news! Mint is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest financial insights! Click here!) Dubai Taxi Co.
is the largest taxi operator in the city by fleet, with a 44% market share, according to its website. The company is expected to benefit from Dubai’s emergence as a post-Covid haven which has drawn expatriates to the emirate. An influx of crypto millionaires, bankers relocating from Asia and Russians since the start of war in Ukraine have also led to the city’s population increasing, with the UAE planning
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