Modern architecture, Dubai's central business district and car traffic can be seen from Sky Views Observatory on December 13, 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Dominika Zarzycka | SOPA Photos | Light Rocket
Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Shares of Dubai-based parking management company Parkin rose more than 30% on Thursday as the company went public on the Dubai Financial Market.
Parkin's share price jumped to 2.73 dirhams ($0.74) with trading off to a very positive start for the first public listing in the UAE this year. The shares were initially priced at the high end of their range at AED 2.1, giving the company a value of $1.7 billion.
Parkin raised 1.57 billion dirhams ($429 million) for its initial public offering, was oversubscribed 165 times, and saw demand worth 259 billion dirhams – a record for the stock exchange.
Parkin is the largest provider of paid parking in Dubai, and is expected to see more demand as the city's population rises. In the first half of 2023, the expatriate center witnessed a 63% increase in residency visas issued compared to the same period of the previous year.
“There are clear indications that Dubai is on a growth path, and that Parkin is an integral part of the city of Dubai,” Ahmad Hashem Bahrozyan, Chairman of Parkin, told CNBC’s Dan Murphy. “So as Dubai grows, it is natural that Parkin will grow as well.” “. After the start of trading on Thursday.
Parkin, Dubai's paid parking provider, will go public on the Dubai Financial Market Stock Exchange on March 21, 2024 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
CNBC
Dubai Investments Fund, owner Barkin, offered a 25% stake in the company’s listing and demand from state institutions and families was high, indicating a strong appetite for Gulf investments.
Parkin offers a dividend of 100% of profit or free cash flow per share, whichever is higher, “subject to distributable reserves requirements,” according to its prospectus.
Asked whether the company would be able to maintain this level of payments in the future, Behrouzian said: “We are very confident in our ability to do so, and as I said the level of growth in the city promises that we will grow. We already have a very comprehensive plan and very strong plans.” To expand… We promise that we will do our best to maximize value for all shareholders.”
Parkin's IPO follows a relatively quiet period for listings in Dubai, following a marathon year of public offerings in 2022 that saw several of the emirate's major public utilities and critical infrastructure operators go public.
These include Dubai Electricity and Water Company (DEWA) – the city's largest ever initial public offering (IPO) which raised Dh22.3 billion in April 2022 – as well as Salik operator, district cooling service provider Empower, and Dubai Taxi.
Parkin is the sixth company to go public as part of Dubai's public listing campaign, which began in 2021. The city is seeking to improve liquidity and volume on its local exchanges to better compete with its regional counterparts in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh.
The wider Gulf region has witnessed a wave of initial public offerings, most of them in Saudi Arabia. In 2023, 35 Saudi companies will be listed on the stock exchange, along with eight companies in the United Arab Emirates, two in Oman, and one in Qatar.
“I think we are still in the IPO boom phase, but it is good,” Fadi Arbid, co-founder and CIO of Dubai-based investment management firm Amwal Capital Partners, told CNBC.
“In Dubai, there is a very deliberate effort by the government to privatize some of the premium assets, and then open them up to the public and investors globally. Saudi Arabia is equally driven by the private sector and the government as well.”
He added that IPOs in Saudi Arabia have the advantage of being “backed by a deep retail market.”
“The pipeline is still intact,” Arbid said. “It's all about pricing now.”
