Shares in DIP Holding, the first company to list in the UAE this year, rose more than 6 per cent during early trade on its debut in Dubai amid strong investor demand.
The company’s stock was trading 5.8 per cent higher at at Dh1.185 at 11.18am. It was the second-biggest gainer on the Dubai Financial Market after Al Ramz Capital, which rose more than 8 per cent.
With more than 65.6 million shares worth Dh77.4 million changing hands, DIP Holding was the most traded stock on the bourse in a declining market.
The emirate’s benchmark Dubai Financial Market General Index was down 0.2 per cent, led lower by Shuaa Capital, Mashreq and Dubai Islamic Bank.
The surge in DIP Holding underpins strong investor demand for new listings in Arab world’s second-largest economy.
Last week, Dubai Investments raised Dh1.9 billion ($529 million) from the sale of a 20 per cent stake in its subsidiary DIP Holding.
Dubai Investments offered 1.74 billion shares in its unit at Dh1.12 a piece, to investors, which implied a market capitalisation of Dh9.7 billion at listing.
The share sale received strong investor interest and the initial public offering was several times oversubscribed. The deal broke the lull in the UAE IPO market, which had been a hotbed for public floats before disruption caused by the regional conflict, with the DFM and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange both attracting a steady stream of listings over the past few years.
The IPO market in the broader Middle East slowed last year, amid the volatility in oil prices and geopolitical unrest. The Iran war, which has severely disrupted economic momentum in region, has further dented investor sentiment.
DIP Holding, which operates the mixed-used master development Dubai Investments Park, last week said the success of its share offering signals “confidence in the country’s capital markets”.
Dubai Investments Park is home to 1,000 primary tenants, 5,700 subtenants and more than 150,000 residents. The district was established in 1997 and hosts warehouses, hotels, retail outlets, schools and medical centres, making it one of the largest mixed-use developments in the emirate.
