UAE Exchange considers IPO on Nasdaq New York

The Nasdaq would be the preferred stock market for the listing because it's a good option for finance companies, although Singapore would also be considered, said BR Shetty, the chief executive.

A cashier helps customers exchange money at an UAE Exchange branch on Hamdan Street in Abu Dhabi. Silvia Razgova / The National

The remittance and currency exchange firm UAE Exchange is aiming to list on the Nasdaq stock market in New York in two years.

The company, which has 700 offices across more than 30 countries, is considering listing in the United States even though it is headquartered in Abu Dhabi. The Nasdaq would be the preferred stock market for the listing because it seemed to be a good option for finance companies, although Singapore would also be considered, said BR Shetty, the chief executive.

“In two years’ time we will expand enough,” he said. “We will be in 56 countries in two years’ time.”

Mr Shetty also mooted a possible offering three years ago, but instead sold a 40 per cent stake – valued at about US$2 billion – to the Abu Dhabi-based Centurion Investment in 2012. Centurion also has a stake in Mr Shetty’s health-care group, NMC, which is now listed in London.

Now, UAE Exchange is planning to expand to countries including Egypt, he said, with a strong focus on increasing its presence in Africa.

The company handled more than $25bn worth of remittance flows last year, accounting for 6 per cent of total remittances globally.

Mr Shetty was confident that an IPO for UAE Exchange would be relatively straightforward.

“Our profitability is not less than some of the good banks in the UAE,” he said.

The company would list about 30 per cent, in line with minimum requirements. The proceeds would be used to “improve the network and infrastructure” and keep on expanding, he said.

The company has not hired bankers to look at conducting the process yet.

“We will do the valuation and everything later,” Mr Shetty said.

UAE Exchange’s India division has applied for a banking licence in the country but is awaiting news on whether it will be awarded. Several companies are competing for the licences after India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India, last year announced guidelines to allow corporate house and non-banking finance companies to apply to open banks.

“If we get it, we are lucky,” Mr Shetty said. “If we get [the licence], people will benefit.”

Mr Shetty is also the chief executive of NMC Healthcare, which was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2012, raising £117 million in its IPO. The group is expanding in the UAE and the wider Middle East region, with a women’s hospital under development in Abu Dhabi.

Five IPOs in the Middle East and North Africa region in the first quarter of this year raised $1.28bn, down 21 per cent compared to the same period last year, according to Ernst & Young. It was still one of the best performing quarters for IPOs in recent years, the tax and advisory firm said.

“The combination of attractive valuations and solid aftermarket performance means that financial sponsors are actively pushing companies to list,” said Phil Gandier, EY’s head of transaction advisory services for the Mena region. “The companies expected to list in the region range from subsidiaries of family businesses to large established companies.”

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