Top Bahrain Telecom Firm Is Said to Weigh Saudi Dual Listing
Top Bahrain Telecom Firm Is Said to Weigh Saudi Dual Listing
(Bloomberg) -- Bahrain’s biggest telecommunications firm is planning to become the first company to have a dual listing of shares on Saudi Arabia’s stock exchange, according to people familiar with the matter.
Bahrain Telecommunications Co., also known as Batelco, has hired the investment arm of Samba Financial Group as an adviser on the deal, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. No decision has been made and the company may decide against the dual listing, they said.
A spokesperson at Batelco declined to comment, while Samba Capital didn’t respond to messages seeking comment.
Saudi Arabia’s bourse has been trying to encourage Middle Eastern firms to dual list for years, without success. Aluminium Bahrain had considered a dual listing in 2014, but it never occurred.
The Saudi exchange is the largest and most actively traded in the Gulf region. Trading volumes on other exchanges have languished, leading several firms to delist from bourses in Dubai and Bahrain.
Saudi Tadawul Group Chief Executive Officer Khalid Al Hussan said in April that the exchange is reviewing cross-listings from companies in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi and two agreements were signed -- with the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and the Bahrain Bourse.
“There are companies that applied and hired financial advisers to be dual listed,” Saudi Exchange CEO Mohammed Al-Rumaih had said in April. “I expect this year we’ll witness the first dual-listed company.”
Read more on planned Saudi IPOs: |
---|
Saudi Wealth Fund-Owned Digital Security Firm Hires IPO Adviser |
Saudi Exchange Hires JPMorgan, Citigroup, NCB Capital for IPO |
HSBC Is Said to Work on Possible IPO of Saudi Arabian Cargo Firm |
Sabic Is Said to Weigh IPO of Specialty Chemicals Business |
Schlumberger-Backed Arabian Drilling Said to Plan Saudi IPO |
First Saudi Tech Startup That Could Go Public Picks HSBC for IPO |
Saudi Bottled Water Company Is Said to Join List of IPO Hopefuls |
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.