Dubai Holding, an investment conglomerate owned by the emirate’s ruler, said on Monday it plans to list a 12.5% stake in a residential leasing-focused real-estate investment trust (REIT) in the first initial public offering of the year in Dubai.
The company plans to offer 1.63 billion units in Dubai Residential REIT, which manages 35,700 residential units across different segments, including some of its most iconic communities like City Walk and Bluewaters.
Dubai’s property market has rebounded sharply since the COVID-19 pandemic, fuelled by an influx of foreign investors, government residency reforms, and a surge in demand for luxury housing from wealthy expatriates.
The region’s business and tourism hub has also consolidated major state-owned real estate developers and listed more government entities on the stock exchange, as part of a broader push to deepen capital markets and diversify its economy.
Dubai Residential REIT is expected to be the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region’s largest listed REIT, with a gross asset value (GAV) of 21.63 billion dirhams ($5.89 billion), Dubai Holding said in a statement.
The listing would also be Dubai’s first IPO flotation since Talabat in December, and the second in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) this year, after Alpha Data ALPHADATA.AD.
The subscription period for the IPO is expected to run from May 13 to 20, with trading on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) to start on or around May 28.
DHAM Investments, which is the selling unitholder, and a subsidiary of Dubai Holding, will receive all the proceeds from the offering, according to the statement.
Citi, Emirates NBD and Morgan Stanley are joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners for the IPO.
Reuters
