KEC set to launch IPO in May
Published: Feb 28, 2010 22:22 Updated: Feb 28, 2010 22:22
JEDDAH: The SR30 billion Knowledge Economic City (KEC) will launch its initial public offering (IPO) in May. The Capital Market Authority (CMA) announced on Sunday that KEC's initial public offering of 102,000,000 shares representing 30.06 percent of the company's total outstanding shares would be offered from May 24 to May 30.
Knowledge Economic City was launched by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah in June 2006 and is the fourth and most important of six economic cities announced by the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA).
According to a statement on the Tadawul website, the company's prospectus will be posted to the public well before the subscription period. The prospectus includes all relevant information that investors need to know before making an investment decision, including the company's financial statements, activities and management.
KEC is designed as a project that will position Saudi Arabia and young Saudi Arabian entrepreneurs as internationally respected leaders in knowledge-based industries. The project is estimated to create more than 20,000 jobs and accommodation about 150,000 people after the completion.
The CMA also said Al-Hassan Ghazi Ibrahim Shaker Company's IPO of 10,500,000 shares, 30 percent of the company's total outstanding shares, will be offered from April 26 to May 2, once the book-building process is complete. A portion of the offered shares will be allocated to mutual funds.
The three insurance companies IPOs were also announced on Sunday: Solidarity Saudi Takaful Company with a capital of SR555 million, 22.2 million shares, will be offered to the public which represents 40 percent of the company shares; Amana for Cooperative Insurance company with a capital of SR320 million, 12.8 million shares, will be offered which represents 40 percent of the company shares; and Wataniya Insurance Company with a capital of SR100 million, 3 million shares, will be offered which represents 30 percent of the company. The offer prices will be SR10 per share and the offering period will be from March 22 to March 28.
The CMA approved the Saudi Fransi Cooperative Insurance Company's (Allianz's) request to increase its capital through a rights issue offering.
Allianz requested CMA's approval to increase its capital through a rights issue offering with a total value of SR125 million. The rights issue is limited to the shareholders who are registered in the shareholders register at the close of trading on the extraordinary general assembly day, which will be determined later by the company's board. The price and number of offered shares will be determined by the company during the extraordinary general assembly.
Jarir Capital Company has requested CMA to cancel the authorization which was issued in 2008 to conduct securities managing and custody. Based on the Capital Market Law, the CMA Board of Commissioners approved on Sunday the cancellation of the authorization for Jarir Capital based on its request.
The CMA on Sunday imposed a fine of SR50,000 each on Al-Rajhi Bank, SAAB Takaful and Tourism Projects Company (Shams) for violating CMA regulations. Al-Rajhi and SAAB were fined for not informing the CMA the change in their top management while Shams was fined for informing the authority the resignation of its executive director.
Meanwhile, the Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) made its largest decline for three weeks as banks faltered on continued concerns over lenders' provisions. The index closed 35.55 points or 0.55 percent down at 6,437.50 on Sunday.
Al-Rajhi Bank shares fell 2.27 percent to SR75.50 and SABB dropped 1.04 percent to SR47.80, taking its losses to 9 percent in four sessions. SABB's non-performing loans rose 16-fold in 2009, while Al-Rajhi Bank said financing whose value declined rose to SR3.87 billion in 2009 from SR2.77 billion in 2008. However, shares in Bank Albilad increased by 2.48 percent to SR20.70 and Riyad Bank by 1.05 percent to SR28.90 on Sunday.
However, almost all sectors saw negative closes on Sunday, which ranged from 0.13 percent in the Multi-Investment sector to a loss of 2.47 percent in the Insurance sector. The only two sectors that closed the day with a gain were the Retail and the Telecom & IT sector, which were up 0.11 percent and 0.08 percent respectively. Overall market breadth was negative, with 27 decliners and 97 advancers coming to an AD ratio of 0.28, the Jeddah-based Financial Transaction House (FTH) said in its daily market commentary.
Most of the petrochemical companies were in the red on Sunday. Yanbu National Petrochemical Company shares fell by 2.12 percent, Saudi Industrial Investment Group by 1.59 percent, National Industrialization Co. by 1.39 percent and Sahara Petrochemical Co. by 1.18 percent. Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) shares were unchanged at SR88.75.
The value of Saudi traded shares was SR2.38 billion on Sunday.
