Dubai: Qatar Insurance Company (QIC) said its board has approved plans to list its foreign subsidiary on the Qatar Stock Exchange.
The company didn’t provide any further details on the IPO. The company’s website said Qatar International includes units operating in Oman, Kuwait and Malta. “It’s a way to realise gains, it will monetise value from the unit and create value to shareholders,” said Marwan Shurrab, fund manager and head of trading at Vision Investments & Holdings.
QIC, in which the Qatar government owns 12 per cent stake, posted a net profit of 800 million rials in the nine months to September, up 44 per cent on year.
The IPO, if approved, would be the latest in the string of offerings in the primary market that is betting on a revival in investor sentiment. The plans follow the February IPO of Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding Co, Qatar’s first stock market listing since 2010, which attracted strong demand.
In Saudi Arabia, National Commercial Bank’s $6 billion IPO is considered to be the second biggest to Alibaba so far in the year.
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange also expects at least two listings by the end of the year, although they are talking to 4 potential companies. ADX has been trying to get more companies in health, retail, education, petrochemicals to become a part of the index.
The DFM expects to have two IPO’s by the end of year.
“The new IPO’s are positive to the market … we have enjoyed strong equity markets in the past year that has helped investor appetite,” Shurrab said.
Qatar and the UAE indices were upgraded to emerging market from the frontier markets by the MSCI and S&P, a move that is expected to result in inflows worth billion of dollars into the capital markets.
