Saudi Rasan to Sell Shares on Tadawul

Rasan’s pavilion at the Leap 24 international conference in Riyadh (from the company’s account on X)
Rasan’s pavilion at the Leap 24 international conference in Riyadh (from the company’s account on X)
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Saudi Rasan to Sell Shares on Tadawul

Rasan’s pavilion at the Leap 24 international conference in Riyadh (from the company’s account on X)
Rasan’s pavilion at the Leap 24 international conference in Riyadh (from the company’s account on X)

The Saudi Rasan Information Technology Company intends to offer 22.74 million shares on the Tadawul Stock Exchange, 10 percent of which will be allocated to individual subscribers, at the price of SAR 35-37 riyals per share.

MAGNiTT research company estimated that the market value of Rasan would reach around $750 million, after the expected offering of 30 percent of its capital in the main Saudi market (Tadawul), thus becoming one of the sector’s largest companies in the region.

Rasan is one of 216 new fintech companies that have been established in Saudi Arabia since 2016. The cumulative total of venture capital investments in this sector exceeded SAR 6.9 billion ($1.84 billion).

The company, which was founded in 2016 and operates in the financial and insurance technology sectors, achieved a compound annual growth in net profit at a rate of 332 percent between 2020 and 2023. Its revenues at the end of 2023 amounted to SAR 256 million ($68.3 million).

Rasan operates online insurance platforms such as Tameeni and Treza. In 2021 it closed an investment round of SAR 90 million led by Impact46, a Saudi alternative asset manager.

The insurance sector in Saudi Arabia has grown over the past year, as the profits of listed insurance companies increased during the first quarter of 2024 by 50 percent compared to the same period last year, to record SAR 910 million ($242 million).

On the other hand, the Rasan IPO is the seventh and last in the month of May, during which new listings were active on the Saudi Financial Market (Tadawul). The period for individuals to subscribe to the company’s shares begins on Wednesday May 29, and continues until the evening of the following day.

Saudi Arabia is looking to increase the pace of listings in the financial market, by offering 24 companies over the course of 2024, according to the annual report of the Financial Sector Development Program of Vision 2030.



Mali Gold Production Plunges 23% in 2024

Amadou Dabo displays roughly seven grams of gold he bought from small-scale miners for about $30 in Kalana, August 25, 2012. (Reuters)
Amadou Dabo displays roughly seven grams of gold he bought from small-scale miners for about $30 in Kalana, August 25, 2012. (Reuters)
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Mali Gold Production Plunges 23% in 2024

Amadou Dabo displays roughly seven grams of gold he bought from small-scale miners for about $30 in Kalana, August 25, 2012. (Reuters)
Amadou Dabo displays roughly seven grams of gold he bought from small-scale miners for about $30 in Kalana, August 25, 2012. (Reuters)

Mali's industrial gold production plunged 23% to 51 metric tons last year from 66.5 tons in 2023, the West African country's mines ministry said.

Mali is one of Africa's top gold producers and home to industrial mines operated by international companies including Barrick Gold, B2Gold Corp, Resolute Mining and Hummingbird Resources.

A ministry document showed on Friday that the output number excludes Barrick Gold's December production following the company's dispute with Mali's military-led government related to a mining law introduced in 2023.

Barrick suspended operations at its Loulo-Gounkoto operation last month after authorities seized its gold reserves by helicopter. Four of its employees have been detained since November on charges including money laundering and financing of terrorism, which the company denies.

Mali's new mining code, which raises taxes and seeks to hand over big stakes in assets to the state, makes it uneconomic to invest in new mines or buy operations in the country, several mining chief executives told Reuters this week.

Mali's government says mining companies including Barrick have not been paying their fair share of taxes.

According to the ministry document, Mali's gold production fell below 60 tons for the first time in over three years.

It would stand at 52.7 tons if Barrick met its December forecast of 1.7 tons, the ministry's monthly estimates showed.

The ministry did not provide an explanation for the drop in production.

An official from the mines ministry told Reuters the government's conflict with mining companies could be the reason for the lower output. The sector faces a crisis of confidence after authorities demanded foreign companies migrate to the new mining code and arrested employees and executives, the official added.

According to the ministry's data, Barrick Gold remains the country's biggest gold producer, with an output of 19.4 tons in 2024 excluding December production, followed by B2Gold at 13.7 tons and Resolute Mining at 7.2 tons.

With an estimated 6 tons produced in artisanal mines, Mali's total gold production in 2024 is expected to reach 58.7 tons, the mines ministry said.