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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)
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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.

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Iraqi Central Bank Discusses Foreign Transfer Mechanisms with US Delegation

The Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq meets a US delegation in Baghdad. (Central Bank of Iraq)
The Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq meets a US delegation in Baghdad. (Central Bank of Iraq)
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Iraqi Central Bank Discusses Foreign Transfer Mechanisms with US Delegation

The Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq meets a US delegation in Baghdad. (Central Bank of Iraq)
The Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq meets a US delegation in Baghdad. (Central Bank of Iraq)

Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq Ali Mohsen Al-Alaq held talks with Steve Lutes, Vice President of Middle East Affairs at the US Chamber of Commerce and Chairman of the US-Iraq Business Council mechanisms for international trade and Iraq’s shift to fully utilizing correspondent banks for foreign transfers. 

Sunday's discussions in Baghdad follow the US blacklisting of 14 Iraqi banks - half of the country’s total banks - on suspicions of involvement in money laundering and transferring funds to Iran and Syria. The move has prevented these banks from conducting dollar transactions.

According to a statement by the Central Bank of Iraq on Sunday, the meeting, which was also attended by the Directors General of the Investments Department and the Banking Supervision Department, addressed “banking and economic relations” between Iraq and the US. They covered a visit by a Central Bank delegation to Washington in April, during which the delegation will meet with officials from the US Chamber of Commerce and American companies.

The two sides also touched on US companies’ interest in investing in Iraq’s energy, infrastructure, and advanced technology sectors, as well as opportunities arising from Iraq’s current security stability.

Al-Alaq emphasized the Central Bank’s role in supporting Iraq’s economic growth and pledged full support to global firms, including US companies and banks, looking to invest in the country. He stressed the importance of diversifying investment sectors to bolster economic development.

Since the beginning of 2023, the Central Bank of Iraq has implemented a monitoring system for dollar transactions through a specialized platform, which was designed to regulate financial transfers by Iraqi banks and provide proactive oversight, replacing the US Federal Reserve’s previous practice of auditing daily transfers. However, the Central Bank decided to discontinue the platform at the beginning of 2024.

The closure triggered significant withdrawals of deposits by individuals and companies, amid concerns that the banks holding their funds might face bankruptcy due to non-compliance with the Central Bank’s requirements and the US Treasury Department’s standards.

According to Central Bank data, the total volume of deposits in Iraq’s commercial banks fell to its lowest level in 22 months, dropping to 123 trillion Iraqi dinars in November 2024, compared to 127.5 trillion dinars in October.

Between June and November 2024, deposits decreased by 7 trillion dinars, reflecting a continued trend of declining savings in the banking sector over recent months.