Saudi stock exchange set for December trading debut, CEO says

Saudi Arabia’s stock exchange is due to make its trading debut in December after starting the process to sell a 30 per cent stake in an initial public offering, according to its chief executive officer.

“We target to list the company in the first week of December,” Khalid Al Hussan said in an interview with Al Arabiya TV. “We have set a clear policy of distributing 70 per cent of dividend in case we are not working on exceptional projects for the company’s growth.”

The kingdom’s markets regulator last week signed off on Saudi Tadawul Group Holding’s offering of 36 million shares. SNB Capital, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup are the IPO’s global coordinators and underwriters.

The offering, which may be one of the biggest in the exchange sector since Euronext s $1.2bn listing in 2014, could value the bourse at between $3bn and $4bn, people familiar with the matter said last month.

The exchange will offer all shares to institutional investors, with a clawback to retail investors of up to 10 per cent of shares. Hussan said IPO subscription for institutions will start on November 21 and for individuals on November 30.

The CEO also said:

* Sees “exceptional number” of listings in the next 12 to 18 months
* Working with Gulf companies for cross listing; sees first cross listing next year
* 9-month revenue at SAR900m ($240m)
* 9-month profit at SAR477m vs 346m year ago