JEDDAH, 2 July 2007 — More than 191,000 Saudis invested about SR84 million on the first day of the initial public offering of the Saudi Printing & Packaging Company (SPPC), a subsidiary of Saudi Research & Marketing Group (SRMG). The IPO was launched on Saturday.
“About 71 percent of 5.4 million shares offered by the company to individual subscribers were sold off on the first day,” said Eissa Al-Eissa, the CEO of Samba Financial Group, manager of the IPO.
The company offers 18 million shares worth SR396 million in the five-day IPO, the first by a printing company in the Middle East. Prospective investors can buy a minimum of 10 shares and a maximum of 100,000 shares at the rate of SR22 per share.
Al-Eissa attributed the tremendous response of investors to the IPO to their confidence in the company and about its brighter future. “We have taken all measures for the success of the IPO and meet the requirements of the growing number of subscribers,” he said.
If the number of individual subscribers crosses 540,000, Samba, being the manager of the IPO, would have the right to increase the allocation from 30 to 50 percent with the permission of the Capital Market Authority, he said.
Al-Eissa said that 98 percent of subscribers used electronic means such as the Internet and ATMs to complete subscription procedures, reflecting increased awareness of Saudi investors.
Tarik Algain, CEO of SPPC, said the IPO represented an important phase in the company’s history and development. “The IPO will take the company to new heights of progress and help achieve its objective of becoming an integrated printing group in the Arab region,” Algain said. He expressed confidence that the company would continue to make excellent achievements as did in the past as a result of its comprehensive vision and expansion plan.
Commerce and Industry Minister Dr. Hashim Yamani recently approved SPPC’s shift to a closed joint-stock company with a capital of SR600 million ($160 million). SPPC currently prints about 55 newspapers and magazines.
SPPC was established in Jeddah in 1963. Its previous name was Madina Printing and Publishing Company (MPPC), and later renamed as SSPC in the middle of 2006.
