The strong performance of Al Ansari Financial Services, following its recent listing, highlights the fact that the time for family businesses to launch initial public offerings (IPOs) has never been better.
Equity benchmarks in the UAE and Saudi Arabia have been among the world’s best performers as regulatory reforms and a spate of IPOs enhance market liquidity, diversify options for investors and attract new types of issuers.
The recent share sale by Al Ansari marks the first public sale of its kind on the Dubai Financial Market and will pave the way for other family businesses to support their next phase of growth.
The demand for Al Ansari’s IPO exceeded Dh12.7 billion ($3.45 billion), about 22 times the number of shares on offer, highlighting the brand awareness and local investor following such home-grown champions enjoy.
The enthusiasm from regional and high-profile international investors for the 57-year-old integrated financial group during the IPO and its post-listing performance is testament to the demand that such high-quality family businesses can expect.
In the wake of the Al Ansari IPO, family businesses are increasingly appreciating the benefits of listing. Going public can be an effective way to transform family businesses into more institutionalised entities and the strong framework that comes with being a publicly traded company helps to build trust with stakeholders.
IPOs can also play a critical role in succession planning for family businesses. By going public, family businesses can gain access to capital to fund their expansion and support the smooth transfer of ownership from one generation to the next.
Family members who wish to exit the business can sell their shares on the public market, which can help to mitigate conflict and enable a smooth transition of ownership.
Listed companies also attract a wider pool of talent, including experienced executives who can help to manage the business during a transition period.
The listing of a family business is a powerful tool to drive business growth as it becomes more focused on enhancing shareholder value.
The capital raised through IPOs can be used to invest in research and development, expand operations and enter new markets. And in their quest to add more value, new avenues of funding are opened for these businesses, often at much better rates than would be secured as a private company.
Engaging early with a financial adviser can help a family business to evaluate its financial performance and identify areas that need improvement before going public.
This can include optimising the capital structure, improving financial reporting and governance, finding cornerstone investors and addressing relevant legal and regulatory compliance matters.
When to go public is an important question. It is never wise to try to “time” the market.
The path to an IPO will typically take up to a year for businesses, meaning market conditions may have changed considerably by the time they come to list. Instead, family businesses interested in listing should remain firmly focused on the long-term benefits.
Despite the global market volatility, the pipeline for family business listings remains robust and we continue to receive expressions of interest from clients to begin their capital markets journey.
This is great news as deeper capital markets will support the expansion plans of our nation’s fast-growing companies while contributing to the long-term sustainable growth of the UAE economy.
Ahmed Al Qassim is group head of wholesale banking at Emirates NBD
Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Star rating: 2/5
RESULT
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Man of the Match: Adama Traore (Wolves)
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Bio
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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'THE WORST THING YOU CAN EAT'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
British Grand Prix free practice times in the third and final session at Silverstone on Saturday (top five):
1. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) 1:28.063 (18 laps)
2. Sebastian Vettel (GER/Ferrari) 1:28.095 (14)
3. Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Mercedes) 1:28.137 (20)
4. Kimi Raikkonen (FIN/Ferrari) 1:28.732 (15)
5. Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Renault) 1:29.480 (14)
French Touch
Carla Bruni
(Verve)
More on animal trafficking
More on animal trafficking
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Straightforward ways to reduce sugar in your family's diet
- Ban fruit juice and sodas
- Eat a hearty breakfast that contains fats and wholegrains, such as peanut butter on multigrain toast or full-fat plain yoghurt with whole fruit and nuts, to avoid the need for a 10am snack
- Give young children plain yoghurt with whole fruits mashed into it
- Reduce the number of cakes, biscuits and sweets. Reserve them for a treat
- Don’t eat dessert every day
- Make your own smoothies. Always use the whole fruit to maintain the benefit of its fibre content and don’t add any sweeteners
- Always go for natural whole foods over processed, packaged foods. Ask yourself would your grandmother have eaten it?
- Read food labels if you really do feel the need to buy processed food
- Eat everything in moderation
