Drake and Scull may list on Taduwal

Dubai: Dubai contractor Drake and Scull may consider an additional listing of its shares on Saudi Arabia’s Taduwal bourse though the firm does not have any imminent plans for it, its chief executive said on Monday.

Tadawul is the largest market in the Gulf Arab region, with much greater liquidity and trading volumes than other exchanges. Its market regulator amended listing rules in January last year to allow cross-listings, and the stock exchange said it would focus on attracting firms from elsewhere in the Gulf.

“It’s a logical thing to do. I recognise there is a potential in the Saudi market,” Drake Chief Executive Khaldoun Tabari told reporters in Dubai. He did not provide a timeline for any potential listing.

Drake, which specialises in mechanical, engineering and plumbing (MEP), has a unit in Saudi Arabia and about half of the company’s project backlog is in the kingdom.

Last month, Drake said it won a contract worth 1.73 billion riyals ($461.3 million) to build a twin-tower residential and commercial development in the western Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah.

Abu Dhabi’s Eshraq Properties said in March that it was seeking regulatory approvals for a cross listing of its shares in Saudi Arabia.

Drake shares have risen 41 per cent year-to-date on the back of new project wins and increased speculation that the firm was a takeover target. Tabari said in May that he has no plans to sell his 44 per cent stake in Drake.