JEDDAH, 24 February 2005 — Bank Albilad, which recently offered SR1.5 billion ($400 million) worth of shares in an IPO, received 471,000 applications by Tuesday, the bank said in a statement.
The bank said the initial public offering was oversubscribed within a day and a half of opening as the total value amounted to SR2.25 billion. Albilad spokesman Mohammad Al-Awadh said 1.7 million Saudis rushed to banks on Monday and Tuesday seeking shares worth SR1.92 billion in the Islamic bank, created last year from the merger of eight money exchangers.
Saudi investors have until March 9 to submit applications for shares in Albilad, but newspapers have reported a deluge of applicants at banks across the Kingdom since the offering opened on Monday. Some showed pictures of fights and scuffles for application forms.
Awadh said subscription forms were available by telephone and over the Internet, but most applicants were still turning up in person to register. Albilad is the third high-profile IPO in four months in Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, where big investors and ordinary Saudis lack investment opportunities.
A SR1 billion offering of stock in mobile telephone operator Ettihad Etisalat was 50 time oversubscribed.