Borouge’s $2bn Abu Dhabi IPO draws $83bn of orders

The United Arab Emirates’ main oil company and Borealis raised $2bn in the initial public offering of their chemicals joint venture, drawing $83bn of orders in the latest sign of strong demand for listings in the region.

Borouge’s IPO is Abu Dhabi’s biggest-ever listing and adds to a string of sizable offerings from the UAE and Saudi Arabia, where markets have largely bucked the volatility that’s put a lid on share sales globally.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. and Vienna-based Borealis sold 3 billion shares at Dhs2.45 each in the deal, valuing Borouge at $20bn. The demand amounted to an oversubscription level of almost 42 times.

Oil’s almost 60 per cent surge this year to more than $120 a barrel has helped draw foreign flows to the region’s markets, which have been some of the world’s best performers this year. Many recent offerings in Dubai and Saudi Arabia have attract tens of billions of dollars of demand.

Borouge drew interest from the likes of BlackRock and Fidelity, people with knowledge of the matter said last week, mirroring the global demand seen for the landmark listing of Dubai’s main utility, known as Dewa, in April.

High energy prices have boosted efforts by governments in the Middle East to list assets and fund the transition of their economies to a post-fossil fuel world. Last year, ADNOC sold stakes in two units, ADNOC Drilling and fertilizer firm Fertiglobe, via IPOs.

Abu Dhabi-based Borouge makes specialty plastics for manufacturing and consumer goods. It has said it will pay $975m in dividends for the financial year 2022, rising to at least $1.3bn for 2023.

Borouge’s shares will start trading on June 3. Citigroup, First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC Holdings and Morgan Stanley are the the joint global coordinators for the IPO.