(Bloomberg) -- Saudi Arabia’s Almoosa Health Co. surged in its trading debut following a $450 million initial public offering in Riyadh, bucking the recent trend of disappointing listings in the Middle East.
Shares of the hospital operator rose to as much as 165 riyals ($43.9) — the maximum allowed 30% increase from the offer price — before paring gains to 15%. The rally gave the company a market capitalization of around 6.3 billion riyals.
The strong debut comes against a backdrop of tepid starts from high-profile regional IPOs like Talabat Holding, Lulu Retail Holdings and Oman’s OQ Exploration & Production SAOG. Saudi listings such as United International Holding and Tamkeen Human Resources Co. have been relatively resilient.
Still, share sales across the Persian Gulf are expected to continue at pace in 2025, but bankers and analysts anticipate more investor sensitivity around valuations. “Investors are more concerned about the valuation and recent IPOs showed that issuers and bankers need to leave something on the table,” said Faisal Hasan, the chief investment officer at Al Mal Capital.
Investors are also becoming more selective when choosing between IPOs and listed firms with strong earnings track records, according to Dipanjan Ray, a senior director for equities at Emirates NBD Asset Management. “We’re seeing longer-term structural earnings growth stories doing better than short-term trading opportunities or where there is skepticism around long-term earnings delivery,” he said.
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Saudi Arabia’s expected to see a flurry of listings. Online cosmetics retailer Nice One Beauty Digital Marketing Co. is set to list on the Tadawul exchange on Jan. 8 after its $320 million IPO. The regulator has also recently greenlit planned offerings by technology services firm Ejada Systems Ltd., developer Umm Al Qura for Development & Construction Co. and financial services company Derayah Financial Co.
Health care is a key pillar of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s trillion-dollar Vision 2030 plan, which foresees a rise in the country’s population and life expectancy.
Dr Soliman Abdel Kader Fakeeh Hospital Co. raised $763 million from Saudi Arabia’s biggest IPO of 2024. The Saudi wealth fund is planning to list Nupco, the kingdom’s largest medical procurement firm, Bloomberg News has reported.
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Almoosa, which operates 730 beds across two hospitals, reported revenue of 870 million riyals in the first nine months of 2024, according to its IPO prospectus. It plans to open two more hospitals by 2028.
(Updates with analyst comments.)
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