Dubai retailer appoints xCube as it gears up for listing on Dubai Financial Market
The indicative price of the Union Coop shares has been demarcated at Dh3.9 ahead of its listing on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM).
The opening price shall be defined according to the buy and sell orders during the pre-trading session on the first day of listing, the company said in a statement issued on Sunday.
The government-backed retailer had announced a share split of 1 to 10 whereby each Union Coop shareholder received 10 shares in exchange for 1 share they owned.
Union Coop suspended trading on its shares through its portal on July 1 and trading will resume on July 18 through the DFM, becoming the first consumer cooperative in the UAE to list on the stock exchange.
Union Coop is among 10 companies that Dubai aims to list on the local bourse in order to improve liquidity in the market.
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) and Tecom Group were the first two entities as part of the series to list on the local bourse. Both IPOs saw a strong response and were massively oversubscribed both by retail and institutional investors.
According to the prospectus posted on the Dubai bourse, the number of Union Coop shares has been increased to 1.764 billion.
The company achieved Dh2.2 billion in sales last year and Dh413 million in profit. It currently operates 24 branches and four malls across the emirate of Dubai. it had total assets of Dh3.691 billion at the end of December 31, 2021.
The total overall expenses for 2021 stood at Dh1.8 billion as compared to Dh1.977 billion in 2020. The cash in the fund, banks and bank deposits are Dh557.6 million in 2021 as compared to Dh796.2 million in 2020.
Appointment of xCube
Union Coop also announced the appointment of xCube to provide market maker service on its shares as part of its preparations to list on DFM.
On January 26, Dubai launched xCube to organise and facilitate the activities of market maker companies in the Dubai Financial Market. The launch was aimed at increasing the market capitalisation of the local bourse to Dh3 trillion.
The company said xCube’s role will include ensuring bid and offer prices on the shares, determining the volumes required for buying and selling, and finding the balance of share price, which contributes to reducing the difference between requests and offers and encourages active trading.
Khalid Al Falasi, CEO of Union Coop, said xCube’s expertise and capabilities reinforce the favourable environment for Union Coop’s listing on DFM.
News Source: Khaleej Times
