Jamal Al Hai, executive senior vice-president of Dubai Airports and chairman of the founders committee of Marka, a public joint stock company under incorporation, has said that Marka’s IPO (initial public offering) signals a new beginning for the UAE IPO market which has been going through an IPO drought for several years as a result of the global financial crisis.
It is planned that the founders will subscribe to 45 per cent of the company’s equity, or the equivalent of Dh225 million (225 million shares), while the remaining 55 per cent equity (275 million shares) will be offered to the public in an IPO.
Al Hai said: “The feedback that we have been getting since announcing that we are in the process of receiving regulatory approvals for establishing Marka as a public joint stock company demonstrates the noteable appetite in the market for IPOs, where prominent investors have rushed to express their desire to join the founders. We have also seen significant interest from institutional and individual investors.”
