Adnoc Drilling made a strong debut on the Abu Dhabi bourse after its listing on Sunday, following a successful initial public offering last week.
The drilling arm of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company was officially listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), with the stock closing at Dh2.95 on Sunday, up 28.2 per cent compared to its final IPO price of Dh2.30. It surged as high as Dh3.05 during the day.
Adnoc Drilling raised $1.1 billion from the IPO last week after it offered 11 per cent of the company’s shares.
“Today’s listing will enable domestic and international investors alike to benefit from the growth trajectory of a company that sits at the very heart of Adnoc’s ambitious growth plans,” said Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and managing director and group chief executive of Adnoc.
“In addition, this highly successful IPO will further strengthen and broaden Abu Dhabi’s vibrant equity capital markets, while driving the UAE’s economic growth, diversification and attracting foreign direct investment.”
Adnoc Drilling is one of the largest drilling companies in the Middle East, operating 107 onshore, offshore and island rigs, of which 11 are rented. The company, which began operations in 1972, has expanded its fleet of rigs, adding 67 since 2010, in line with the growth in oil and gas production capacity at Adnoc.
The share offering attracted considerable interest, with total gross demand for the IPO amounting to over $34bn, implying an oversubscription level in excess of 31 times.
Adnoc Drilling is one of the 10 largest companies on the ADX based on a market capitalisation at listing of approximately $10bn, helping to further diversify and strengthen the exchange and increasing investor choice.
“The significant demand for this offering, emphasised by the considerable oversubscription, reflects the investment community’s high confidence in Adnoc Drilling and the attractiveness of Adnoc and the UAE as a compelling investment destination,” Dr Al Jaber said.
Adnoc will continue to maintain its majority 84 per cent stake in Adnoc Drilling. US energy services company Baker Hughes, which entered into a strategic partnership with Adnoc Drilling in October 2018, will retain its 5 per cent interest. US contract oil and gas driller Helmerich & Payne will hold 1 per cent through its IPO cornerstone investment announced on September 8, 2021.
“The Adnoc Drilling listing will serve to further draw in new investors and issuers and bolster the exchange’s market capitalisation, which exceeded Dh1 trillion for the first time in 2021,” Saeed Al Dhaheri, chief executive of ADX, said.
Adnoc Drilling’s IPO is the second major listing this year in Abu Dhabi and is the largest on the Abu Dhabi stock market.
In July, Al Yah Satellite Communications (Yahsat), a unit of Mubadala Investment Company, raised about $730 million through a public offering.
"Adnoc Drilling is on an upward growth trajectory ... and plans to continue to support Adnoc as it delivers on its 2030 growth target to increase oil production capacity to 5 million barrels per day as well as the UAE’s goal to be gas self-sufficient," Abdulrahman Al Seiari, chief executive of Adnoc Drilling, said.
The company's stock will start trading on the Abu Dhabi bourse under the symbol ADNOCDRILL and ISIN AEA007301012, Adnoc said.
The latest listing comes as global oil prices continue to trade higher due to improved demand. Brent, the global benchmark was trading above $79 per barrel on Sunday.
The gains made by Adnoc Drilling “show investor appetite for fundamentally strong stocks in the region, especially in Abu Dhabi, which is the best performing market globally this year,” Junaid Ansari, senior vice president of investment strategy and research at Kamco Invest told The National.
Investors are also keen to be a part of Abu Dhabi’s plan to expand oil production to 5 million bpd by 2030, of which Adnoc Drilling would be a key beneficiary, he said.
Meanwhile, the commodity rally with oil prices hovering around $80 per barrel is expected to give a big boost to the company’s revenues and bottom line this year, Mr Ansari added.
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Company%20profile
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: SimpliFi
Started: August 2021
Founder: Ali Sattar
Based: UAE
Industry: Finance, technology
Investors: 4DX, Rally Cap, Raed, Global Founders, Sukna and individuals
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
Jewel of the Expo 2020
252 projectors installed on Al Wasl dome
13.6km of steel used in the structure that makes it equal in length to 16 Burj Khalifas
550 tonnes of moulded steel were raised last year to cap the dome
724,000 cubic metres is the space it encloses
Stands taller than the leaning tower of Pisa
Steel trellis dome is one of the largest single structures on site
The size of 16 tennis courts and weighs as much as 500 elephants
Al Wasl means connection in Arabic
World’s largest 360-degree projection surface
Tewellah by Nawal Zoghbi is out now.
RESULT
Arsenal 2
Sokratis Papastathopoulos 45 4'
Eddie Ntkeiah 51'
Portsmouth 0
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Age 26
Born May 17, 1991
Height 1.80 metres
Birthplace Sydney, Australia
Residence Eastbourne, England
Plays Right-handed
WTA titles 3
Prize money US$5,761,870 (Dh21,162,343.75)
Wins / losses 312 / 181
Building boom turning to bust as Turkey's economy slows
Deep in a provincial region of northwestern Turkey, it looks like a mirage - hundreds of luxury houses built in neat rows, their pointed towers somewhere between French chateau and Disney castle.
Meant to provide luxurious accommodations for foreign buyers, the houses are however standing empty in what is anything but a fairytale for their investors.
The ambitious development has been hit by regional turmoil as well as the slump in the Turkish construction industry - a key sector - as the country's economy heads towards what could be a hard landing in an intensifying downturn.
After a long period of solid growth, Turkey's economy contracted 1.1 per cent in the third quarter, and many economists expect it will enter into recession this year.
The country has been hit by high inflation and a currency crisis in August. The lira lost 28 per cent of its value against the dollar in 2018 and markets are still unconvinced by the readiness of the government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to tackle underlying economic issues.
The villas close to the town centre of Mudurnu in the Bolu region are intended to resemble European architecture and are part of the Sarot Group's Burj Al Babas project.
But the development of 732 villas and a shopping centre - which began in 2014 - is now in limbo as Sarot Group has sought bankruptcy protection.
It is one of hundreds of Turkish companies that have done so as they seek cover from creditors and to restructure their debts.
The specs
Engine: 1.4-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 180hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 250Nm at 3,00rpm
Transmission: 5-speed sequential auto
Price: From Dh139,995
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Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
