Shares of Al Ansari Financial Services, the UAE money exchange and transfer company, surged more than 19 per cent at the start of trading on Thursday as the company made its debut on the Dubai Financial Market.
Shares of the company, which started trading on the DFM under the ticker symbol “ALANSARI”, rose to Dh1.23 at the start of trading. They closed 16.51 per cent higher at Dh1.20.
Al Ansari sold 750 million shares and set the final share price at Dh1.03, the higher end of its Dh1-Dh1.03 offer range, implying a market capitalisation of Dh7.73 billion ($2.1 billion) at listing.
The company drew $3.45 billion in bids for its initial public offering that raised $210 million from the sale of a 10 per cent stake, with the offering oversubscribed 22 times on average.
The listing "will set us on a new and exciting chapter in our 57- year history", said Mohammad Al Ansari, chairman of Al Ansari.
"The success of this transaction will further support the UAE’s ambitions of deepening and diversifying its capital markets by inspiring other family-owned businesses to follow in our footsteps."
National Bonds Corporation — owned by the Investment Corporation of Dubai, the investment arm of the Dubai government — committed to a cornerstone investment worth Dh200 million in the IPO.
Al Ansari's listing "supports our diversification strategy and Dubai's commitment to developing its capital markets", said Helal Al Marri, chairman of the DFM.
"Most importantly, it sets an encouraging precedent for other family businesses to follow suit and help boost economic growth and investor confidence in the UAE."
Al Ansari expects to distribute a minimum dividend of Dh600 million ($163 million) for the 2023 financial year, implying a minimum dividend yield of 7.77 per cent to 8 per cent.
The first-half dividend payment will be made in October 2023 and the second-half payment in April 2024.
The IPO drive in the Middle East has continued to gather pace this year after the region registered 48 listings in 2022 that raised more than $23 billion last year, compared with $7.52 billion from 20 offerings in 2021.
That was the highest share for the Gulf region after 2019, when Saudi Aramco went public in a $29 billion offering, the world’s largest.
Last month, Adnoc raised about $2.5 billion from the sale of a 5 per cent stake in its gas business, marking the year's largest listing so far globally.
The Adnoc Gas listing was about 50 times oversubscribed and drew more than $124 billion in orders.
Al Ansari Exchange was set up about 60 years ago and has 231 branches in the UAE, offering exchange services, remittances, a system to pay domestic workers and savings plans.
The company opened its first exchange branch in the UAE in 1966. It also operates in Kuwait.
Al Ansari's IPO is part of a strategy to reposition the company for its next phase of growth, with proceeds from the offering going to parent entity Al Ansari Holding.
The UAE is the second-largest outward personal remittances market globally, with a total value of $48 billion, Al Ansari said last month, citing a report by Edgar, Dunn and Company.
Al Ansari registered 22 million personal remittance transactions last year, with the money remitted increasing by 4.8 per cent to Dh737 million in 2022, compared with the previous year.
The company expects digital transactions to account for about a fifth of personal outward remittance transactions by 2027, up from 15 per cent in 2022.
Al Ansari believes exchange houses will continue to play a significant role, given the large and growing low-income resident population that do not have access to a bank account.
The company's net profit grew by 21 per cent to Dh595 million in 2022, compared with the previous year, and was up 59 per cent on its 2020 results.
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Juventus v Hellas Verona (11.45pm)
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Day 4
England 290 & 346
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Sri Lanka require another 75 runs with three wickets remaining
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Nick's journey in numbers
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A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
