DEWA starts trading on Dubai Financial Market

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) on Tuesday started trading on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM).

After pricing its shares last week at AED 2.48 per share, DEWA opened the day's trading as the largest company on the DFM, with a market capitalisation of AED124 billion ($33.8 billion).

DEWA sold 9 billion shares in its IPO, representing 18 per cent of its total share capital, and raised a total amount of AED22.3 billion ($6.1 billion), making this the largest IPO in the UAE and the largest in Europe, Middle East and Africa region so far in 2022.

The Dubai Government continues to own 82 per cent of DEWA's share capital.

The IPO was oversubscribed by 37 times (excluding cornerstone and strategic investors), with strong demand across all tranches.

To celebrate the listing, Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of DEWA, rang the market opening bell.

"Today's listing on the Dubai Financial Market is the beginning of an exciting new chapter in DEWA's growth story," Al Tayer said.

"The strong interest we have seen from institutional and retail investors reflects the confidence in DEWA as a globally leading utilities company. We are proud to offer investors the opportunity to be a part of DEWA's future as it supports Dubai's growth and energy transition."

Helal Al Marri, Chairman of DFM, said, "We are delighted to welcome the listing of DEWA, which gives a strong impetus to DFM's diversification strategy that focuses on attracting IPOs and listings from varied economic sectors.

"Our ultimate objective is to increase the representation of dynamic economic sectors that play a pivotal role in the economy of Dubai and the UAE in line with the leadership's vision and Dubai's strategy to develop its financial markets and further strengthen its status as a leading international capital markets hub.

"Additionally, the new IPO and listing clearly indicates issuers' deep confidence towards DFM and its world-class regulations, infrastructure and services. It also bolsters DFM's leading position as the most favoured exchange for businesses looking to go public and raise necessary funds to implement their growth strategies."

DEWA's shares are traded within the Utilities Sector. No price limits have been applied to the shares during the first day of trading, as they will be applied from the second day of listing.

The IPO price of the share has been defined at AED2.48.