Dubai Financial Market (DFM) today welcomed the listing of shares of one of UAE’s prominent family-owned businesses and the parent Group of the UAE’s largest remittance and foreign currency exchange companies, Al Ansari Financial Services (the “Group”).
The new listing marks one of the first family businesses to be listed in the country and Dubai’s first IPO of 2023 which follows a momentous year for DFM through the public offering and listing of five leading government-related and private companies.
Since its establishment in 1966, Al Ansari Financial Services has scaled to become one of the leading integrated financial services groups in the UAE and is the leading player in the outward personal remittance and retail foreign exchange market in the UAE with over 231 physical branches across the Emirates, as at 31 December 2022. The successful listing of the Group underscores the viability of DFM's strategic plan to enhance and integrate Dubai's capital markets infrastructure.
To celebrate the listing, Mohammad Ali Al Ansari, Chairman of Al Ansari Financial Services, rang the DFM market opening bell in the presence of His Excellency Helal Al Marri, Chairman of DFM, Rashed Ali Al Ansari, Group CEO of Al Ansari Financial Services and Hamed Ali, CEO of DFM and Nasdaq Dubai, alongside several other officials.
Al Ansari Financial Services’ shares began trading under the symbol “ALANSARI”, following the successful public offering which raised AED773 million through the sale of 750 million shares for AED1.03, giving the Group a market capitalization of AED7.7 billion at listing.
Bearing testament to the appeal of the offering and the Group’s business model, the IPO met with a strong demand from investors, with the offering 22 times oversubscribed1. The Retail Investors tranche alone was oversubscribed by 44 times, with its offer size raised from 5% to 7.5%, equivalent to 56.25 million ordinary shares of the total offering. The IPO received high traction from both the Qualified Investors and Retail Investors, with aggregate demand surpassing AED 12.7 billion.
Commenting on Al Ansari Financial Services’ successful listing, Mohammad Ali Al Ansari, Chairman of the Group said:
“The listing of our shares on the Dubai Financial Market is a landmark moment for Al Ansari Financial Services, and one that will set us on a new and exciting chapter in our 57- year history. We also believe that the success of this transaction will further support the UAE’s ambitions of deepening and diversifying its capital markets by inspiring other family-owned businesses to follow in our footsteps.
From our beginnings as a family-owned exchange founded in 1966 to building an integrated financial services ecosystem that has scaled to be the leader in our core offerings, to now becoming a DFM-listed company, we are very proud of our transformation. Of course, this milestone can only be made possible by listing on an exchange that will provide us with access to local, regional and international investors who believe in our story and who will play a crucial part in our future success.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, we are excited to welcome our new shareholders to the Group and look forward to working closely alongside them as we make progress towards our growth ambitions.”
H.E. Helal Al Marri, Chairman of DFM, said:
“DFM extends its warmest congratulations to the entire team at Al Ansari Financial Services on this important milestone. The Group’s successful listing greatly supports our diversification strategy and Dubai's commitment to developing its capital markets. Most importantly, it sets an encouraging precedent for other family businesses to follow suit and help boost economic growth and investor confidence in the UAE."
Rashed Ali Al Ansari, Group CEO of Al Ansari Financial Services added:
“We are extremely proud to become a DFM-listed company and we thank the DFM for all their efforts in providing an excellent platform that will enable us to reap the benefits of becoming a publicly traded company.
The strong institutional and retail investor demand in our IPO confirms the attractiveness of our investment proposition and in our ability to execute on our clear growth agenda. Our focus in the next period will be to maintain our leading physical branch network position, expand our GCC market share, enhance our digital offering, grow current margins, further our reach in the corporate remittances market, and expand our value proposition in the end-to-end cash management market.
Today's listing crowns several momentous strides in our journey. We remain steadfast in our commitment to unlock additional value to shareholders and customers, alike, and look forward to capturing growth opportunities in our home market and abroad.”
Hamed Ali, CEO of DFM and Nasdaq Dubai, said:
“DFM welcomes the listing of Al Ansari Financial Services' shares, reaffirming our commitment to providing world-class financial market services in Dubai. This listing represents a significant milestone for DFM as it builds on our ambitious strategy to provide private companies with access to capital markets, to build on their legacy and continue to grow and develop sustainably. We are confident that the addition of Al Ansari will further enhance the competitiveness and attractiveness of Dubai's capital markets."
DFM applied no price limits on the shares during the first day of trading, as they will be applied from the second day of listing.
News Source: Dubai Media Office
