780,000 Show Interest in Almarai IPO

JEDDAH, 12 July 2005 — The number of subscribers in Almarai IPO as of yesterday is more than 780,000, according to the Saudi British Bank. The subscribers have invested SR4.3 billion in the stock. Abdullah Al-Hamdan, SABB’s deputy managing director and the IPO’s manager, said that this reflects the investors’ confidence in Almarai’s stocks and in the company’s performance in addition to the introduction of new technology in subscribing which reduced problems and increased participation in the buying. Almarai appointed HSBC as financial adviser and SABB as the IPO manager. The Almarai stock offered are 4.5 million shares for SR7 billion. The last day to subscribe is Wednesday.