Saudi’s Tadawul IPO 442.53% Oversubscribed

Saudi Tadawul is preparing to list on Wednesday (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Tadawul is preparing to list on Wednesday (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi’s Tadawul IPO 442.53% Oversubscribed

Saudi Tadawul is preparing to list on Wednesday (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Tadawul is preparing to list on Wednesday (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Shares of Tadawul group will begin trading on the main market on Wednesday, Dec. 8.

The individual subscribers’ tranche of Tadawul’s initial public offering was 442.53% oversubscribed with a total demand of SR5.02 billion ($1.3 billion).

The stock exchange group was offering 10.8 million shares to individual investors, or 30% of the total offer shares at a final price of SR105.

Around 598,327 subscribers participated in the period. The subscription period started on November 30.

The IPO will provide an important strategic dimension to realize Tadawul’s expansion plans, strengthen its position globally, and align its growth objectives with the Public Investment Fund’s strategy to boost the economic transformation of Saudi Arabia.

Tadawul had earlier increased the size of the offering for retail investors to 30%, up from 10% initially, to encourage the participation of individual investors.

Subscribers will each receive a minimum of 10 shares, while those remaining will be allocated on a pro-rata basis.

The shares will be listed on the main index of the Saudi Exchange once all listing formalities are complete. Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase and SNB Capital are financial advisers and global coordinators for the IPO.

Tadawul is among the top 10 global stock markets with a market capitalization of about $2.8 trillion.

Tadawul Group has four subsidiaries that include the Saudi Exchange, a dedicated arm running the kingdom’s equity market previously known as the Saudi Stock Exchange Company; the Securities Clearing Centre Company, known as Muqassa; the Securities Depository Centre Company (Edaa); and a new subsidiary focused on applied technology services, known as Wamid.



Washington Urges Israel to Extend Cooperation with Palestinian Banks

A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
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Washington Urges Israel to Extend Cooperation with Palestinian Banks

A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)

The United States on Thursday called on Israel to extend its cooperation with Palestinian banks for another year, to avoid blocking vital transactions in the occupied West Bank.

"I am glad that Israel has allowed its banks to continue cooperating with Palestinian banks, but I remain convinced that a one-year extension of the waiver to facilitate this cooperation is needed," US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday, on the sidelines of a meeting of G20 finance ministers in Rio de Janeiro.

In May, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatened to cut off a vital banking channel between Israel and the West Bank in response to three European countries recognizing the State of Palestine.

On June 30, however, Smotrich extended a waiver that allows cooperation between Israel's banking system and Palestinian banks in the occupied West Bank for four months, according to Israeli media, according to AFP.

The Times of Israel newspaper reported that the decision on the waiver was made at a cabinet meeting in a "move that saw Israel legalize several West Bank settlement outposts."

The waiver was due to expire at the end of June, and the extension permitted Israeli banks to process payments for salaries and services to the Palestinian Authority in shekels, averting a blow to a Palestinian economy already devastated by the war in Gaza.

The Israeli threat raised serious concerns in the United States, which said at the time it feared "a humanitarian crisis" if banking ties were cut.

According to Washington, these banking channels are key to nearly $8 billion of imports from Israel to the West Bank, including electricity, water, fuel and food.