Atheeb and Savola among Saudi firms planning IPOs this year

Jeddah: Saudi Arabia's Atheeb United, winner of a fixed-line phone licence last year, is one of four Saudi companies planning initial public offerings (IPOs) this year to raise at least 600 million riyals ($160 million) to finance expansion.

Atheeb, a joint venture with companies including Bahrain Telecommunications (Batelco), plans to raise as much as 500 million riyals before July selling a 25 per cent stake, its chairman Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Ahmad Al Saud told reporters in Jeddah yesterday.

Savola Group said it plans to sell 30 per cent of fast-food chain Herfy Food Services in an initial public offering by the end of September.

"The company has good value and it has been growing very well," Savola retail division president Mohammad Kashgari told Reuters.

Market value

"When the market is valuing it highly, sometimes you want to sell some of it."

The kingdom's Al Sorayai Trading and Industrial Group, which makes carpets and rugs, will seek 600 million riyals to fund expansion in the Middle East, North Africa, and East Asia, company chief executive officer Saleh Al Sorayai told Reuters on the sidelines of an investment conference in Saudi Arabia's second-biggest city.

"We estimate that the company will be valued at two billion riyals," Sorayai said. "We plan to sell a 30 per cent stake."

Al Khozama Management, which manages property in the Middle East, plans an IPO to sell a 30 per cent stake, company chairman Prince Bandar Bin Saud Bin Khalid said, without giving more details.