Thursday, March 21, 2013

First Saudi cross-listing: a trend-setter?


An Abu Dhabi real estate developer's plan to list its shares in Saudi Arabia is a step towards making Gulf equity markets more international. But it is not clear that the company will benefit enough to start a trend.

Eshraq Properties, which listed in Abu Dhabi in 2011 and posted a net profit of 286 million dirhams ($78 million) last year, announced last week that it was seeking approval from regulators in the UAE and Saudi Arabia to cross-list on the Saudi market.

If Eshraq's plan goes ahead, it will become the first company from outside Saudi Arabia to obtain a cross-listing in the kingdom, analysts said.

The benefits could be significant; the Saudi stock market is much larger and more active than other Gulf markets, so Eshraq could gain a major new fund-raising channel while lifting its profile in the region's biggest real estate sector.

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