ADNOC Drilling Jumps Over 30% In Debut for Abu Dhabi’s Largest IPO

A general view of ADNOC headquarters in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates May 29, 2019. (Reuters)
A general view of ADNOC headquarters in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates May 29, 2019. (Reuters)
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ADNOC Drilling Jumps Over 30% In Debut for Abu Dhabi’s Largest IPO

A general view of ADNOC headquarters in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates May 29, 2019. (Reuters)
A general view of ADNOC headquarters in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates May 29, 2019. (Reuters)

ADNOC Drilling shares jumped more than 30% as the unit of Abu Dhabi oil giant ADNOC started trading on Sunday after its $1.1 billion initial public offering (IPO), the largest ever on the Abu Dhabi stock market.

ADNOC Drilling, whose share offering attracted more than $34 billion in demand, is expected to be among the 10 largest companies on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, based on a market capitalization at listing of about $10 billion, Reuters reported.

Its shares surged over 30% to 3.05 dirhams in early trading.

"This important milestone will bolster the expansion and diversification of Abu Dhabi’s equity capital markets and further the development of the UAE’s economy and private sector", ADNOC said in a statement.

The IPO is the latest move by Gulf oil giants ADNOC and Saudi Aramco to raise cash from outside investors as they try to diversify sources of income in their oil-dependent economies.

Saudi Aramco listed in late 2019, raising $29.4 billion in the world's biggest IPO.

ADNOC will continue to own an 84% majority stake in the unit, while Baker Hughes will retain its 5% shareholding. Helmerich & Payne will hold 1% through its IPO cornerstone investment.

ADNOC increased the size of the IPO to 11% of share capital because of oversubscription. It had previously targeted sellinga minimum stake of 7.5%.

The sale is the second public flotation of a company owned by the Abu Dhabi oil major after the 2017 listing of ADNOC Distribution, the largest operator of petrol stations and convenience stores in the UAE.



Foreign Direct Investment in China Drops 28% in Five Months

A Tesla sign is seen on the Shanghai Gigafactory of the US electric car maker before a delivery ceremony in Shanghai, China January 7, 2020. Reuters
A Tesla sign is seen on the Shanghai Gigafactory of the US electric car maker before a delivery ceremony in Shanghai, China January 7, 2020. Reuters
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Foreign Direct Investment in China Drops 28% in Five Months

A Tesla sign is seen on the Shanghai Gigafactory of the US electric car maker before a delivery ceremony in Shanghai, China January 7, 2020. Reuters
A Tesla sign is seen on the Shanghai Gigafactory of the US electric car maker before a delivery ceremony in Shanghai, China January 7, 2020. Reuters

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China dropped 28.2% to reach 412.5 billion yuan (approximately $57.94 billion) during the first five months of 2024 from the same period last year, data released by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said on Saturday.

Despite the decline, 21,764 new foreign-invested firms were established across China in the reporting period, an increase of 17.4%, Xinhua News Agency quoted the Ministry as saying.

“The scale of foreign investment in actual use is still at a historically high level,” according to a ministry official, who attributed the decline mainly to a high comparison base last year.

The manufacturing sector attracted 28.4%, or ¥117.1 billion, of the total FDI inflow, up 2.8% points from the same period last year and indicating continued improvement in investment structure.

FDI inflows into smart consumer equipment manufacturing and professional technical services increased 332.9% and 103.1% year-on-year, respectively.

Meanwhile, China sees significant improvement in the World Competitiveness Ranking 2024 thanks to its strong economic performance, said Arturo Bris, director of the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) World Competitiveness Center.

The new ranking released by the IMD on Tuesday showed that Singapore is the world's most competitive economy, while China is rapidly closing the gap climbing by seven positions thanks to its strong economic recovery post-pandemic.

“The Chinese performance this year is interesting. There is a significant improvement of seven positions. It is one of the countries that has improved the most. Certainly, we see China climbing to the top 10 sooner rather than later,” Bris told Xinhua via video link on Tuesday regarding the ranking.

“China has now reached the 14th position after ranking 21st last year. This is first of all explained by the strong performance of the economy after COVID,” he said.

“There has been improvement in corporate governance practices of Chinese companies and there is better access to talent and financing of technologies in companies. All in all, this points out to a more favorable business environment provided by the government,” Bris said.

Asia is the big winner this year and countries like China, Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia all improved their positions in the competitiveness ranking, he said.

In the coming years, there will be more fragmentation and protectionism in the global economy, Bris added.

“Countries that have better domestic markets, access to commodities and natural resources like China, are going to perform much better compared to Europe or Latin America. China is going to perform very well in a fragmented economy,” the IMD director noted.

The World Competitiveness Ranking 2024 showed that Switzerland ranked second, and Denmark ranked third.

The ranking also showed that emerging markets are catching up with more advanced economies, especially in the areas of innovation, digitalization, and diversification.