Saudi Arabia's L'Azurde jewellery maker plans IPO and new plant

Riyadh: Saudi family-owned jewellery maker L'Azurde plans to list on the Saudi bourse this year to help finance a giant plant in the country, the company and an industry source said yesterday.

"The plant will be the world's largest and will be partially financed from funds that it will raise in the flotation of up to 30 per cent of its capital in 2006," said an industry source familiar with L'Azurde.

A company official confirmed to Reuters L'Azurde had a factory development in the pipeline, as well as an initial public offering for 2006, but declined to give further details.

The industry source said L'Azurde is one of the world's five largest jewellery makers. The Saudi company, which sells through 3,000 retailers in 35 countries throughout the Gulf region and Asia, already has four plants, in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and India.

Saudi state-owned mining holding company Maaden said it would provide L'Azurde with its gold. Maaden this week awarded L'Azurde, winner of an international tender, a three-year contract to process gold ore extracted locally.

Maaden's vice-president Mohammad Hani Dabbagh said: "A Swiss-based firm used to refine our gold ore now L'Azurde will do this locally, which will benefit the industry and local economy in terms of job creation and added value."

Dabbagh said Maaden's gold output stands at 250,000 ounces, but declined to elaborate.