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Dubai's Road-Toll Operator Salik to Sell 20% Stake in IPO

One of Salik’s eight toll gates, where 1.6 million vehicles pass daily (Asharq Al-Awsat)
One of Salik’s eight toll gates, where 1.6 million vehicles pass daily (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Dubai's Road-Toll Operator Salik to Sell 20% Stake in IPO

One of Salik’s eight toll gates, where 1.6 million vehicles pass daily (Asharq Al-Awsat)
One of Salik’s eight toll gates, where 1.6 million vehicles pass daily (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Salik Company, Dubai’s exclusive road-toll operator, announced a plan to proceed with an initial public offering (IPO) and to list its ordinary shares for trading on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM).

This step is a continuation of the privatization program pursued by Dubai and its plans to double the size of its financial market to three trillion dirhams ($816.5 billion) and attract foreign investments.

In a statement on Monday, Salik said that 1.5 billion shares, each with a nominal value of AED0.01, will be made available in the IPO, representing 20% of Salik’s total issued share capital.

It added that the offering comprises Individual Subscribers (first tranche), Professional Investors (second tranche), and Eligible Employees (third tranche).

The subscription period will open on September 13 and is expected to close on September 20 for UAE Retail Investors and on September 21 for Qualified Investors.

According to the statement, Dubai’s government, represented by the Department of Finance (the Selling Shareholder), reserves the right to amend the size of the offering at any time prior to the end of the subscription period at its sole discretion, subject to applicable laws and the approval of the Securities & Commodities Authority (SCA).

The share capital of the Company, as at the date of the listing, has been set at AED75 million ($20.4 million), divided into 7.5 billion shares paid-in-full. The value of each share is AED0.01.

The offer price per share will be determined through, and following, a book building process. Investors participating in the UAE Retail Offering will subscribe for the shares at the offer price.

Following the IPO, Salik intends to pay dividends twice, in April and October of each fiscal year.

It expects to pay a first dividend for H2 2022 by April 2023, and it expects to pay 100% of the net profit, after keeping aside the statutory reserves required by law (statutory reserves expected to amount to AED37.5 million for the first dividend).

Mattar al-Tayer, Chairman of Salik’s Board of Directors, said that Dubai has succeeded in laying a clear economic path and an ambitious growth plan that includes attracting direct strategic investments.

He further stated that the Company is in a prime position to benefit from additional growth opportunities and is designed to ensure efficient operations.

“It is underpinned by an effective regulatory framework that supports future growth, and a business model that requires low capital expenditures. It also boasts cash conversion margins that are considered best-in-class.”

CEO of Salik Ibrahim Sultan al-Haddad, for his part, said that the IPO represents an important milestone in Salik’s journey, as it provides the company with an opportunity to consolidate its success as an exclusive operator of toll gates in Dubai, currently operating eight gates distributed in strategic locations across the busiest corridors of the Emirate.

The Company’s long-term principles and values are centered around customers, the environment, human capital, and modern technologies.

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Business

China's Sinopec Posts 36.8% Drop in 2025 Net Profit

People walk past SINOPEC petrol station, in Shanghai, China, 19 March 2026. EPA/ALEX PLAVEVSKI
People walk past SINOPEC petrol station, in Shanghai, China, 19 March 2026. EPA/ALEX PLAVEVSKI
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China's Sinopec Posts 36.8% Drop in 2025 Net Profit

People walk past SINOPEC petrol station, in Shanghai, China, 19 March 2026. EPA/ALEX PLAVEVSKI
People walk past SINOPEC petrol station, in Shanghai, China, 19 March 2026. EPA/ALEX PLAVEVSKI

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, known as Sinopec, reported a 36.8% decline in 2025 net profit on Sunday, citing rising substitution by new energy sources, and weak petrochemical margins, according to the company's filing.

The world's largest oil refiner by capacity posted net income attributable to shareholders of 31.8 billion yuan ($4.62 billion), based on Chinese accounting standards, in a filing to the Shanghai stock exchange.

Refinery throughput fell 0.8% last year to 250.33 million metric tons, equivalent to 5 million barrels per day. The company forecast refinery throughput would remain stable at about 250 million tons in 2026.

Gasoline and diesel production fell 2.4% and 9.1%, respectively, to 62.61 million tons and 52.64 million tons, while kerosene production rose 7.3% year-on-year to 33.71 million tons.

Annual refining ⁠gross margin was ⁠330 yuan ($47.93) per ton, up 27 yuan year-on-year, mainly due to sharply improved margins for refining by-products such as sulfur and petroleum coke, which offset the impact of high import crude premiums and freight costs.

The company's gasoline sales fell 2.5% year-on-year to 61.1 million tons, with the average price falling 7.7%, while diesel sales fell 9.1% to 51.2 million tons, and the average price fell 8% in ⁠2025, Reuters reported.

Kerosene sales were 24.2 million tons, up 4% year-on-year, while the average price was down 9.9% from 2024.

In 2025, the company's domestic crude oil output reached 255.75 million barrels, up 0.7% year-on-year, while overseas crude oil output was 26.65 million barrels.

Sinopec expects domestic crude oil output to reach 255.6 million barrels in 2026, remaining largely stable, while overseas output is expected to drop to 25.31 million barrels.

Natural gas production rose 4% year-on-year to 1,456.6 billion cubic feet in 2025 and is expected to reach 1,471.7 billion cubic feet in 2026.

The company's ethylene production rose 13.5% year-on-year to 15.28 million tons in 2025.

In 2025, the ⁠company's external sales ⁠revenue from chemical products totaled 378.0 billion yuan, down 9.6% year-on-year, mainly because of lower product prices.

Sinopec's capital spending was 147.2 billion yuan in 2025 with 70.9 billion yuan on exploration and development.

Sinopec said it plans capital spending from 131.6 billion to 148.6 billion yuan this year, including 72.3 billion yuan for exploration and development, mainly for crude oil capacity expansion at Jiyang and Tahe, natural gas capacity projects in western and southern Sichuan, and oil and gas storage and transport facilities.

Sinopec's Hong Kong-listed shares have risen 0.21% year-to-date, outperforming a 1.38% drop in the Hang Seng Index , while lagging behind its peers PetroChina and CNOOC, which have posted 17.58% and 42.63% gains year-to-date, respectively.

Business

Egypt Says it Will Pay $1.3 Billion in Arrears to Oil Companies by June

Egypt had accumulated about $6.1 billion in arrears to foreign oil companies by June 30, 2024 (Ministry of Petroleum)
Egypt had accumulated about $6.1 billion in arrears to foreign oil companies by June 30, 2024 (Ministry of Petroleum)
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Egypt Says it Will Pay $1.3 Billion in Arrears to Oil Companies by June

Egypt had accumulated about $6.1 billion in arrears to foreign oil companies by June 30, 2024 (Ministry of Petroleum)
Egypt had accumulated about $6.1 billion in arrears to foreign oil companies by June 30, 2024 (Ministry of Petroleum)

Egypt will settle $1.3 billion in arrears to international oil companies by June, the petroleum ministry said on Saturday, accelerating its previous timetable for repayments.

Egypt had accumulated about $6.1 billion in arrears to foreign oil companies by June 30, 2024 due to a prolonged foreign currency shortage that delayed payments and weighed on investment and gas output. The shortage has since eased, ⁠though some companies have ⁠said that arrears have been once again accumulating.

Under its prior timetable, announced in January this year, the government had expected to still have arrears of some $1.2 billion by June.

Clearing debt may encourage ⁠foreign oil and gas companies to resume drilling, which would boost local production that has been steadily falling since peaking in 2021.

More local production would help the country to reduce its energy imports.

Business

China's Premier Vows to Expand Global 'Trade Pie'

Chinese Premier Li Qiang is seen on a big screen live broadcasting his speech at the opening of the China Development Forum 2026 held at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on March 22, 2026. (Photo by Ng Han Guan / POOL / AFP)
Chinese Premier Li Qiang is seen on a big screen live broadcasting his speech at the opening of the China Development Forum 2026 held at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on March 22, 2026. (Photo by Ng Han Guan / POOL / AFP)
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China's Premier Vows to Expand Global 'Trade Pie'

Chinese Premier Li Qiang is seen on a big screen live broadcasting his speech at the opening of the China Development Forum 2026 held at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on March 22, 2026. (Photo by Ng Han Guan / POOL / AFP)
Chinese Premier Li Qiang is seen on a big screen live broadcasting his speech at the opening of the China Development Forum 2026 held at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on March 22, 2026. (Photo by Ng Han Guan / POOL / AFP)

China's number two leader Li Qiang said Sunday that his country was willing to help expand the global "trade pie" by further opening up, state media reported, while he slammed unilateralism from certain countries.

Many of China's key trading partners have increasingly called on Beijing to reduce its soaring trade surplus owing to its impact on local competition.

Its trade surged by a fifth in the first two months of the year, official data showed earlier this month, significantly outpacing forecasts.

China "will steadfastly advance high-level opening up, import more high-quality foreign goods, and work alongside all parties to promote the optimized and balanced development of trade", Premier Li Qiang told business executives in Beijing on Sunday, according to Xinhua.

Li was speaking at the opening of the annual China Development Forum, attended this year by prominent business leaders including Apple CEO Tim Cook, AFP reported.

The Chinese premier added that Beijing would work with other countries to "join forces to make the global economic and trade pie larger for everyone".

He slammed growing unilateralism and protectionism, which he said was "no panacea for resolving problems".

Beijing has been seeking to steer a shaky economy onto a more stable path since the end of the pandemic, particularly by boosting consumption.

It had been locked in a blistering trade war last year with Washington after President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on countries including China.

The recent trade boost is a lifeline for China, the world's second-largest economy, as domestic consumer activity has slumped, and adds to the record surplus achieved last year.

The China Development Forum convenes as the Middle East war, triggered by US and Israeli strikes on Iran, rages on.

Tehran has retaliated with strikes across the region and beyond in a conflict that has threatened global energy security as well as China's oil supplies.

Li told the Chinese officials and global business executives the international rules-based order was suffering "severe disruption" with power politics "running rampant".

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng met with senior representatives of multinational companies including HSBC, UBS, Schneider Electric and Standard Chartered on Saturday, Xinhua reported.