Tadawul plans for IPO with restructuring

The Saudi stock exchange, Tadawul, is to become a holding company ahead of an initial public offering (IPO) planned for later this year.

The restructuring will see the $2.5 trillion bourse launch four new subsidiaries, one of which will be a technology services business called Wamid.

According to the exchange, Wamid will add depth and diversity to the business, while the restructuring will position the exchange as “an attractive global investment destination and the gateway to the MENA region”. 

The other three subsidiaries are the existing exchange business (Tadawul), a clearing company (Muqassa) and a securities depository centre (Edaa).

The current Tadawul chief executive Khalid Al-Hussan will serve as group CEO while Mohammed Al Nory will lead Wamid.

“The new structure will enable us to deliver high-quality services across all of our business lines, increase our competitiveness, and align our capital market with the rapid growth of emerging markets,” said Hussan.

Saudi Arabia enjoyed a prolific year for IPOs in 2020 and has also been boosted by the addition of its stocks to leading indices from both FTSE Russell and MSCI.  The Tadawul All Share Index, which features 198 Saudi companies, is up by 15% so far this year.

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