RIYADH, 14 February 2006 — Gulf Stevedoring Contracting Company Ltd. (GSCCO) has appointed the Saudi Hollandi Bank (SHB) as the financial adviser and underwriter for its initial public offering (IPO).
In a press conference yesterday, GSCCO’s chairman, Prince Abdul Aziz ibn Ahmed ibn Abdul Aziz, and the SHB managing director, Giel-Jan van der Tol as well as Abdulelah Al-Shaikh, general manager of corporate banking all signed the agreement. The IPO is expected in the last quarter of this year contingent upon the approval of the Capital Market Authority (CMA) and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
“Our decision to apply for a public listing is driven by our strategy to broaden and strengthen the company’s shareholder base and access the public capital markets to our expansion strategy,” Prince Abdul Aziz said.”
GSCCO currently operates three of the largest port projects in the Kingdom including the Northern Container Terminal (NCT) at the Jeddah Islamic Port.
According to Prince Abdul Aziz, the NCT project began in 2000.
The number of containers transported by the company at the end of last year was 1,250,000.
The prince also said 20 percent of the company was owned by Kuwaiti shareholders and GSCCO’s capital was SR350 million. He said that a total of SR1 billion was financed in the NCT project, mostly financed by local banks.
Commenting on the management of the company, Prince Abdul Aziz said: “We have a highly experienced and impressive Saudi management team with specialist industry expertise, which is committed to increasing the size and scope of our business activities,” he said.
The prince said that the company currently employs 3,000 people of diverse nationalities and skills and that the management was keen on recruiting and training more Saudis.
As of GSCCO’s performance last year, he said that the company had earned SR516 million in the year 2005 alone. Asked if GSCCO would begin any of its operations in the King Abdullah Economic City of Rabigh, the prince said that the company was willing to invest in the city.
However, he added that currently the circumstances of the city were not clear and it would be left for developers to finalize that.
Tol said that the signing mandates the bank’s commitment to provide comprehensive financial services to its clients in order to be a significant player in the capital market arena in the Kingdom.
Al-Shaikh said that the fact that GSCCO was offering its shares for IPO reflected its stringent and financial criteria.
“The approach to public offerings in the Kingdom compared to other regional markets has been measured, which is well for the market since only companies that meet stringent financial and regulatory criteria will be able to list,” he said.
The Saudi Hollandi Bank has already signed ten agreements for Saudi companies to offer their shares for IPO in the Kingdom; some of the companies are Al-Obaikan, Middle East Cables Company, Red Sea and the Saudi Marketing Company.