Abu Dhabi-based blockchain and crypto solutions company Phoenix Group has begun trading on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange following a $370 million initial public offering that was 33 times oversubscribed.
Shares of the company rose as much as 18 per cent to hit Dh2.03 on Tuesday.
Founded in 2017, Phoenix’s initial public offering concluded last month. The offering attracted significant attention from retail investors, who oversubscribed by 180 times, and professional investors, who contributed to a 22-fold oversubscription.
“Our IPO symbolises a leap forward for Abu Dhabi as a nexus of digital transformation across various sectors,” Bijan Alizadehfard, co-founder and group chief executive of Phoenix, said.
Phoenix offers a range of services, such as cloud mining, data centre hosting, crypto trading, and Web3 game publishing and distribution.
With a total installed capacity of more than 725 megawatts, it develops, operates and manages crypto mining data centres across the UAE, Oman, US, Canada and Commonwealth of Independent States countries.
It is also the exclusive distributor of mining equipment MicroBT.
IPO activity in the wider Middle East and North Africa region continued to gather momentum in the second quarter of 2023, as their volume on regional bourses surged 44 per cent annually amid robust economic growth, data from global consultancy EY showed.
The Phoenix listing marked an important development for ADX, as it was the first privately owned crypto and blockchain entity to be listed on a Middle East stock market.
The listing boosted the “diversity of products” and signalled the “growing interest in the digital economy and financial technology investments in Abu Dhabi and the UAE”, Abdulla Alnuaimi, chief executive of ADX, said.
In August, Phoenix began collaborating with Muscat-based Green Data City to develop a $300 million crypto-mining farm in Oman. The 150MW farm will be one of the largest crypto-mining data centres in the region.
Overall, the cryptocurrency industry has struggled with continued price declines since last year.
Bitcoin, the first and biggest cryptocurrency, fell below $16,000 in November – a year after it hit a peak of almost $68,000 – following a series of events that rattled the industry. It was trading 0.18 per cent down at $41,917.90 on Tuesday.
The Porpoise
By Mark Haddon
(Penguin Random House)
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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