عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Dubai's TECOM Group Expected to Raise $455 Mln in IPO

One of the TECOM industrial complexes in Dubai (Asharq Al-Awsat)
One of the TECOM industrial complexes in Dubai (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT
TT

Dubai's TECOM Group Expected to Raise $455 Mln in IPO

One of the TECOM industrial complexes in Dubai (Asharq Al-Awsat)
One of the TECOM industrial complexes in Dubai (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Dubai business park operator TECOM Group set price guidance on Thursday for its initial public offering that showed it could raise up to 1.67 billion dirhams ($454.7 million) in the listing.

TECOM Group, owned by the investment vehicle of Dubai's ruler, plans to sell 625 million shares, or 12.5% of issued share capital, at a price range of 2.46 dirhams ($0.66) and 2.67 dirhams ($0.72) per share.

That implies a market capitalization of between 12.3 billion dirhams ($3.3 billion) and 13.4 billion dirhams ($32.6 billion), said the group, which operates 10 business parks and districts across the emirate of Dubai.

UAE Strategic Investment Fund and Shamal Holding will be “cornerstone” investors in the listing, with a combined commitment of 283.75 million dirhams ($77.2 million).

The company is also offering an attractive dividend yield of between 6% and 6.5%, based on a dividend payout of 800 million dirhams ($217.7 million), higher than water and electricity utility DEWA.

On July 5, TECOM will be the latest firm to go public on the Dubai stock market, known as the DFM, under a government initiative announced in November to list 10 state-linked companies.

The IPO subscription period started on June 16 and runs until June 23 for the UAE retail offering, while the qualified investor offering begins on June 24.

Subsequent to Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s announcement on the planned listing of 10 government-owned companies on the DFM, the UAE Strategic Investment Fund was established to act as a strategic long-only investor in key Dubai IPOs.

The UAE Strategic Investment Fund is a segregated portfolio of Emirates NBD AM SPC managed by Emirates NBD Asset Management, one of the largest and longest established asset managers in the Middle East with a long-standing track record of investing in, amongst other asset classes, listed equities within the MENA region via segregated mandates and mutual funds.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

Standard Chartered CEO Seeks to Reassure Staff over AI-linked Job Cuts

FILED - 11 January 2012, China, Hong Kong: FILE PHOTO - A general view of the facade of Standard Chartered Bank branch in Hong Kong. Photo: Jens Kalaene/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa
FILED - 11 January 2012, China, Hong Kong: FILE PHOTO - A general view of the facade of Standard Chartered Bank branch in Hong Kong. Photo: Jens Kalaene/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa
TT
TT

Standard Chartered CEO Seeks to Reassure Staff over AI-linked Job Cuts

FILED - 11 January 2012, China, Hong Kong: FILE PHOTO - A general view of the facade of Standard Chartered Bank branch in Hong Kong. Photo: Jens Kalaene/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa
FILED - 11 January 2012, China, Hong Kong: FILE PHOTO - A general view of the facade of Standard Chartered Bank branch in Hong Kong. Photo: Jens Kalaene/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa

Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters sought to assuage staff concerns on Wednesday, a day after saying that the bank will cut thousands of jobs over the next four years as it moves to replace "lower-value human capital" with technology.

"Many of you will have seen media coverage following the Investor Event in Hong Kong, particularly the reporting around automation, AI, and workforce changes," Winters said in a memo to the bank's ⁠staff reviewed by ⁠Reuters.

"I know this may be unsettling when reduced to simple headlines or a quote out of context," he said.

A spokesperson for the bank confirmed the memo's content.

StanChart said on Tuesday it would cut 15% of ⁠its corporate function roles by 2030, which, according to a Reuters calculation, would result in nearly 8,000 redundancies out of its more than 52,000 staff in such roles.

The bank cited AI as a driver to slim its operations in its quest to increase profitability and tackle competition.

"It's not cost-cutting. It's replacing in some cases lower-value human capital with the financial capital ⁠and ⁠the investment capital we're putting in," Winters said on Tuesday.

In his memo to staff on Wednesday, Winters said the bank had been open that its workforce will evolve.

"Some roles will reduce in number, some will change, and new opportunities will emerge. We will continue to prioritize investment in reskilling and redeployment wherever we can," he said.

"Where changes do happen, we will handle them with thought and care," he added.

Business

Ukraine Ally Britain Eases Sanctions on Russian Oil as Fuel Prices Surge Over Iran Conflict

A seized suspected Russian oil taker by the French navy is photographed in the Mediterranean Sea in Fos-sur-Mer, southern France, on Jan. 26, 2026. (AP)
A seized suspected Russian oil taker by the French navy is photographed in the Mediterranean Sea in Fos-sur-Mer, southern France, on Jan. 26, 2026. (AP)
TT
TT

Ukraine Ally Britain Eases Sanctions on Russian Oil as Fuel Prices Surge Over Iran Conflict

A seized suspected Russian oil taker by the French navy is photographed in the Mediterranean Sea in Fos-sur-Mer, southern France, on Jan. 26, 2026. (AP)
A seized suspected Russian oil taker by the French navy is photographed in the Mediterranean Sea in Fos-sur-Mer, southern France, on Jan. 26, 2026. (AP)

The UK government has quietly watered down sanctions on Russian oil in an effort to shelter Britons from the cost-of-living squeeze triggered by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

A trade license that came into effect Wednesday permits the import of Russian oil that has been refined into jet fuel and diesel in third countries, such as India and Türkiye.

The US-Israeli war on Iran and Iran's closure of the strait, through which about a fifth of the world's oil usually passes, has sent fuel prices soaring around the world and sparked concerns about a shortage of jet fuel.

UK Treasury minister Dan Tomlinson said the changes are “for a time limited period and on a very specific issue.”

Britain has been one of Ukraine's strongest allies since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, and the government insist its sanctions against Russia remain among the toughest in the world.

But lawmaker Emily Thornberry, who chairs Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, said Ukrainians would “feel very let down” by the move. She said Ukraine’s allies should keep squeezing Russia’s oil industry, because it “is absolutely crippling their economy.”

The US has also eased Russian sanctions. Earlier this week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent extended a 30-day sanctions waiver allowing the purchase of Russian oil shipments already at sea.

On Tuesday, finance ministers from the US, Britain and the other Group of Seven wealthy nations issued a joint statement reaffirming “our unwavering commitment to continue to impose severe costs on Russia in response to its continued aggression against Ukraine.”

Business

QatarEnergy Buys Stakes in Uruguay Offshore Blocks from Shell Subsidiary

3D-printed oil pump jacks and the QatarEnergy logo appear in this illustration taken March 2, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
3D-printed oil pump jacks and the QatarEnergy logo appear in this illustration taken March 2, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
TT
TT

QatarEnergy Buys Stakes in Uruguay Offshore Blocks from Shell Subsidiary

3D-printed oil pump jacks and the QatarEnergy logo appear in this illustration taken March 2, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
3D-printed oil pump jacks and the QatarEnergy logo appear in this illustration taken March 2, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

QatarEnergy has acquired interests in three offshore exploration blocks in Uruguay from a subsidiary of Shell, marking its first entry into the South American country's upstream energy sector, the state-owned company said on Wednesday without disclosing financial details.

The Qatari energy giant's South American exploration expansion also strengthens its strategic alliance with Shell, one of its key partners in energy projects within Qatar and elsewhere.

The company, the world's largest single LNG producer before the US-Israeli war on ⁠Iran forced production ⁠halts and resulted in damage to some facilities, has been building up an upstream portfolio over several years, including interests in Brazil, Cyprus, Egypt and elsewhere.

Under the agreements, QatarEnergy took 30% stakes in block OFF-2 and block OFF-7, where Shell ⁠is the operator and holds 70% and 40% respectively. QatarEnergy also acquired an 18% interest in block OFF-4.

APA Corporation operates block OFF-4, in which it holds a 50% stake and Shell holds 32%. In block OFF-7, Chevron holds the remaining 30% interest, QatarEnergy said.

"We are pleased to strengthen our relations with our strategic partner Shell through these agreements, which mark our first entry into Uruguay’s ⁠upstream sector," ⁠Reuters quoted QatarEnergy CEO Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi as saying in the statement.

The three blocks are located off Uruguay’s Atlantic coast in water depths ranging from 40 to 4,000 meters. They cover areas of between 11,155 and 18,227 sq km, the company said.

No commercial oil and gas discoveries have yet been struck in Uruguay, but companies hope to replicate the massive recent discoveries made in Namibia, on the direct opposite side of the Atlantic, because of their shared geological history.