Saudi Arabia's mall operator Abdullah Al Othaim Markets Company scraps IPO plans

Family-owned business was planning to list a 30% stake on the kingdom's Tadawul stock exchange

A Saudi woman monitors her temperature as she enters an Al Othaim market in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Reuters

Saudi Arabia's mall operator Abdullah Al Othaim Markets Company said it had cancelled plans to list its shares on the Tadawul stock exchange.

The family-owned business, which planned to sell 30 per cent of its shares to the public, did not provide a reason for deciding against the flotation in a statement to the bourse on Sunday

The company in March secured the approval of its board and the capital markets regulator in the kingdom to proceed with the IPO.

The number of family-owned companies looking to list their shares on Tadawul, the Arab world's biggest bourse by market value, has risen in recent quarters.

While investors' appetite for local listings in the kingdom remains strong, a rally in the Middle East's equities has slowed over the past month as fears of an economic recession rattled global markets, prompting some companies to shelve their listing plans.

Abdullah Al Othaim Markets Company has recorded a 58.3 per cent year-on-year increase in its first quarter revenue on higher sales during the holy month of Ramadan.

Net profit after zakat and tax for the three months ending March 31 rose to 91 million Saudi riyals ($24m) from 57.68m riyals in the same period last year.

The retail company specialises in the construction, management and operation of shopping malls, in addition to entertainment centres, restaurants and cinemas, according to its website.

Separately, Saudi Arabia's Alamar Foods set the final offer price for its public flotation at 115 riyals a share, according to a bourse filing by HSBC Saudi Arabia in its capacity as the financial adviser, bookrunner, lead manager and underwriter on the potential initial public offering.

The order book was 47.5 times oversubscribed, it said.

Individual investors' two-day subscription period will begin on July 20.

The company is a franchise operator of Domino’s Pizza in the region and Dunkin' in Egypt and Morocco.