Saudi CMA Approves ACWA Power IPO

ACWA Power (Asharq Al-Awsat)
ACWA Power (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi CMA Approves ACWA Power IPO

ACWA Power (Asharq Al-Awsat)
ACWA Power (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Saudi Capital Market Authority (CMA) approved the request of the International Company for Water and Power Projects (ACWA POWER) application for public offering of 81.2 million shares, representing 11.1 percent of its share capital.

The Company’s prospectus will be published within sufficient time prior to the start of the subscription period.

The investment value of the company's portfolio exceeds $66.1 billion, producing 42 gigawatts (GW) of electricity and 6.4 million cubic meters of desalinated water per day, provided as a huge production that meets the needs of state utilities, and according to long purchase contracts.

ACWA Power, through its projects, aims to produce reliable electricity and desalinated water at low cost, while contributing effectively to the sustainable social and economic development of societies and countries.

The company successfully raised $746 million, through a senior, unsecured floating Sukuk rate issuance with a seven-year tenor, under the Shariah-compliant Mudaraba-Murabaha structure.

The issuance marked the company’s maiden entry into Saudi debt capital markets and saw significant interest from fund managers, government funds, and insurance companies accounting for approximately 30 percent of the issuance and resulting in an oversubscription of 1.8 times over the issue size.

ACWA Power was established in 2004 in Saudi Arabia and is 50 percent owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF). PIF increased in November its stake in ACWA Power from 33.6 percent as part of a move to support the renewable energy sector in Saudi Arabia.

It is a developer, investor, and operator of a group of power generation and water desalination plants, and its portfolio currently includes 64 plants that are in operation, construction, or in advanced stages of development.



Oil Steady after US Stockpile Build

An oil pump of IPC Petroleum France is seen at sunset outside Soudron, near Reims, France, August 24, 2022. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo
An oil pump of IPC Petroleum France is seen at sunset outside Soudron, near Reims, France, August 24, 2022. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo
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Oil Steady after US Stockpile Build

An oil pump of IPC Petroleum France is seen at sunset outside Soudron, near Reims, France, August 24, 2022. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo
An oil pump of IPC Petroleum France is seen at sunset outside Soudron, near Reims, France, August 24, 2022. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo

Oil prices steadied on Thursday after falling more than 1% the previous day because of a build in US gasoline and diesel inventories and cuts to Saudi Arabia's July prices for Asia.

Brent crude futures were up 23 cents, or 0.35%, at $65.09 a barrel by 1148 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude gained 16 cents, or 0.25%, to $63.01 a barrel.

Oil prices closed around 1% lower on Wednesday after official data showed that US gasoline and distillate stockpiles grew more than expected, reflecting weaker demand in the world's largest economy.

Geopolitics and the Canadian wildfires, which can reduce oil production, provide price support despite a potentially over-supplied market in the second half of the year with expected OPEC+ production hikes, PVM analyst Tamas Varga said.

The price cut by Saudi Arabia followed the OPEC+ move over the weekend to increase output by 411,000 barrels per day (bpd) for July.

The strategy of OPEC's Saudi Arabia is partly to punish over-producers by potentially unwinding 2.2 million bpd between June and the end of October, in a bid to wrestle back market share, Reuters previously reported.

"Oil demand will be shaped by trade negotiations between the US and its trading partners," PVM's Varga said.