Qatari construction firm Aljaber Group is planning a stock market flotation that could raise as much as $800mn, Reuters reported citing sources with knowledge of the matter.
The move would come as a major surprise given current market conditions and the fact that Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) have been thin on the ground in Qatar in recent years, the newswire said. Mesaieed Petrochemicals in 2014 – is the only company to float in Qatar in the last six years.
But the authorities have been showing more enthusiasm for new floats in recent months and a number of IPOs as well as companies listing their shares without raising any new cash, as Qatar First Bank did last month, are being worked on, Reuters reports.
The local market regulator would have to give the green light before any IPO could proceed and a decision could be influenced by the downturn in the construction sector which has seen a 90 percent slump in the number of new projects being awarded, Reuters reports.
However, Aljaber Group is in a relatively strong position to list because it has a long pipeline of government infrastructure projects, Reuters said citing a source.
Aljaber Group, which was founded in 1976 initially as a retailer of paints and building supplies but which has since expanded into one of the country’s largest construction firms.
The company did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment.