Shares of Borouge, the joint venture between Adnoc and Austrian chemicals producer Borealis, surged as much as 23 percent as the company made its debut on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange on Friday. Borouge had raised more than $2 billion after the demand for its IPO topped $83.4 billion, making it the biggest IPO yet in Abu Dhabi.
The company, which started trading under the ticker symbol Borouge, ended the day with a market value of about Dh90.17 billion ($24.57bn), and its share price gained more than 22 percent to settle at Dh3.00. The Abu Dhabi index posted a weekly gain of 1.5%.
The listing “reinforces Adnoc’s continued role as the critical enabler of growth and expansion of the UAE economy and private sector, and in solidifying Abu Dhabi’s position as a global investment destination of choice”, Dr. Sultan said in a statement on Friday. Borouge successfully closed its $2 billion IPO on Tuesday, the biggest share sale on the ADX that was about 42 times oversubscribed. The company’s IPO is the largest in Abu Dhabi since Adnoc Drilling’s $1.1bn offerings.
In Abu Dhabi, the index (.FTFADGI) declined by 0.2%, with the country’s largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB.AD) dropping 1%, registering the third day of losses. Dubai’s main market index (.DFMGI), closed 0.3% lower, weighed down by a 1.2% fall in Sharia-compliant lender Dubai Islamic Bank (DISB.DU). Elsewhere, blue-chip developer Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU) slipped 0.3% despite S&P Global’s upgrading its rating to ‘BBB-‘ on a strong performance.
The company sold about three billion shares to the public and had set the price per share for its 10 percent float at Dh2.45 ($0.67). The proceeds of the transactions will go to selling shareholders ― Adnoc and Borealis Middle East Holding, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Borealis. Total gross demand for the IPO that also attracted India’s billionaire Adani family amounted to more than $83.4bn.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies agreed on Thursday to boost output by 648,000 barrels per day (BPD) in July – or 0.7% of global demand – and a similar amount in August versus the initial plan to add 432,000 bpd a month over three months until September. The Abu Dhabi bourse gained 17 percent in the first quarter of this year with its market capitalization more than doubling in 2021. The ADX had a market value of about Dh2.03 trillion ($554bn) on Friday.
For 2023, the company aims to pay a dividend of no less than $1.3bn, it said this month when it announced the intention to float its shares.
“We are proud to have completed this highly successful IPO and … with significant cornerstone commitments from high-quality investors a clear indicator of the strength of our investment thesis and strategic roadmap,” said Hazeem Al Suwaidi, chief executive of Borouge. Fertiglobe, the world’s largest seaborne exporter of urea and ammonia combined, raised about $795 million from its listing.
