Union Coop begins first day of trading on Dubai Financial Market

Trading commenced under the symbol ‘UNIONCOOP’ on July 18

by Gulf Business

July 18, 2022

Union Coop begins first day of trading on Dubai Financial Market

Union Coop became the first consumer cooperative in the UAE to list its shares on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), which started on July 18.

Trading commenced under the symbol ‘UNIONCOOP’, allowing members to trade Union Coop shares in exactly the same way as the other companies listed on DFM within the Consumer Staples and Discretionary Sector.

.@DFMalerts welcomes the listing of @UnionCoop, the largest retail cooperative in the #UAE.https://t.co/4vjIg47V5q pic.twitter.com/uJmJDuaqzs

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) July 18, 2022

As one of the largest retail cooperatives in the UAE, the value of Union Coop’s shareholders’ equity exceeded Dhs3bn. It registered a 2.6 per cent increase in net profits of the first quarter of 2022 to Dhs116.5m, while net profits of the full year 2021 reached to Dhs413m, with a profit margin of 21 per cent.

Khalid Al Falasi, CEO of Union Coop, said: “The listing underscores our commitment to protect members’ interests by providing them with a regulated, efficient and transparent marketplace for trading Union Coop shares. We are determined to leverage the facilities and services offered by the capital markets to implement our growth strategy and to provide our members with cutting-edge financial market services through DFM.”

Hamed Ali, CEO of DFM and Nasdaq Dubai, said: “We are pleased to welcome the listing of Union Coop as a significant milestone in line with efforts to implement Dubai’s strategy to develop its financial markets and DFM’s endeavor to diversify investment opportunities offered to investors. This listing will enable investors to participate in a notable success story for one of the prominent cooperatives in the UAE and a leading brand in the retail sector, noting this sector’s importance as a key economic driver in Dubai, which is poised to gain further momentum with the listing on the market as we look to welcome more cooperatives in the future.”

The supermarket chain, also appointed xCube, a company that organises and facilitates the activities of market maker companies in the DFM.

xCube’s role will include ensuring bid and offer prices on the shares, determining the volumes required for buying and selling, and finding the balance of share price, which contributes to reducing the difference between requests and offers and encourages active trading.

Union Coop announces that it has appointed “xCube” to provide market maker service on its shares as part of its preparations to list on Dubai Financial Market (DFM), which is due to take place on 18th of July 2022.
For more: https://t.co/lyKlGJ1lNc pic.twitter.com/cJ8v74rBWz

— Union Coop (@UnionCoop) July 17, 2022

“It is noteworthy that the indicative price of the Union Coop share has been demarcated at Dhs3.9 following a share split of 1 to 10 whereby each Union Coop shareholder received 10 shares in exchange for 1 share they owned. The opening price shall be defined according to the buy and sell orders during the Pre-Trading Session on the first day of listing,” added Khalid Al Falasi.

Union Coop’s strategy focuses on increasing profits and returns for its members by driving sales and revenues as well as closely monitoring costs in addition to the unceasing development of services for the benefit of its customers.

@UnionCoop announces intention to list its shares on #DFM on 18th July 2022.

The Union Coop maintains a momentous record of operational and financial excellence since 1984, as its net profits recorded a compound annual growth rate of 20.5%, while its sales increased 16.85%. pic.twitter.com/tMN5N0L6Tx

— Dubai Financial Market (@DFMalerts) July 1, 2022

According to DFM, Union Coop shares are now held as digital certificates under DFM. Investors can trade using their same investment number, or NIN, used for trading listed shares on DFM.

Trading will be centralised via the new system, making trading easier, faster, and providing investors with full visibility and transparency on the share market price. Dividends payments will be transferred directly to the investor’s bank account and bonus shares to their trading account.

Union Coop became the second stock listing on DFM this month. Earlier on July 5 , Tecom Group also successfully listed on the DFM. The group had raised approximately Dhs1.7bn through an initial public offering.

Read: Tecom Group commences trading on Dubai Financial Market