Market permitting, Dubai Investments plans IPOs in 6-9 months, says CEO

Dubai Investments, a diversified Dubai-based investment group, will press ahead with floating shares in subsidiary companies if a market rally extends over the next six to nine months, its chief executive said on Sunday.

Top of the list of candidates for an initial public offering was Emicool, a company that provides cooling systems for buildings by delivering chilled water through pipes. Its IPO has been mooted for several years.

“The market has started improving,” Khalid Bin Kalban told reporters. “We need to see what momentum the market has and how the market is going to trend, and need six to nine months to gauge it. If it continues for the next six months, for example, then we can go ahead with our plans for IPOs.”

The Dubai Financial Market general index has climbed around 14.5 percent since Nov. 14, with Kalban seeing recent drivers as annual company results, dividend expectations and speculation. He didn’t elaborate.

Joint venture

Dubai Investments was considering listing around 30 percent of Emicool, which it owns in a joint venture with Union Properties, Kalban said. Investment bank Al Mal Capital, which is 60 percent owned by Dubai Investments, was working as a financial adviser on the listing, he said.

“When we are positive on the market, then we can go to the Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority (ESCA) for approval for the IPO,” said Kalban.

The company is also pressing ahead with plans to build industrial zones in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh and Angola similar to its flagship Dubai Investments Park. The company responsible for the Riyadh park is likely to be established by the summer, said Kalban.

Dubai Investments is initially investing $163 million (600 million dirhams) in the Riyadh project to buy the land and build the infrastructure, with its unnamed Saudi partner adding a further 600 million dirhams.

Around 500 million dirhams of Dubai Investments’ contribution is likely to be raised from three unnamed Saudi Arabian banks in a deal set to close by the end of February, he said.