Acwa Power to list on Saudi Arabia's Tadawul exchange

The Riyadh-based company plans to list 11.1% of its shares through an initial public offering

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is one of the many solar projects in the region being developed by Acwa Power. Courtesy Government of Dubai

Saudi Arabia's Acwa Power plans to proceed with its initial public offering and will list 11.1 per cent of its shares on the Tadawul stock exchange, the company said on Thursday.

The Capital Market Authority on June 30 approved the power developer's application to list 81,199,299 new ordinary shares on the bourse.

“The final price at which all subscribers in the offering will purchase shares will be determined at the end of the book-building period,” Acwa Power said in a statement.

The listing will be one of the biggest in the region's energy industry after Saudi Aramco, the kingdom's oil company.

Acwa Power operates in 13 countries across the Middle East, Africa and South-east Asia. It has a portfolio of 64 assets with a total investment of $66 billion, producing 42 gigawatts of power and 6.4 million cubic metres per day of desalinated water.

The power developer is at the forefront of Saudi Arabia's continuing diversification of its energy sector, which it has singled out for greener investments. The world's largest oil exporter plans to add gas and renewables capacity equating to one million barrels of oil per day by 2030.

The kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), is the biggest shareholder in the company with a 50 per cent stake. Acwa Power has seven other stakeholders, including the Saudi Public Pension Agency.

PIF has been given the mandate to develop nearly 70 per cent of renewable projects in Saudi Arabia, the Arab world's largest economy. Utilities and renewables are among the 13 sectors identified by the fund as part of its Vision 2030 strategy.

“Combined with robust strategic partnerships, we are now well-positioned to capture significant opportunities in Saudi Arabia as well as in attractive markets globally, including utility-scale green hydrogen,” said Paddy Padmanathan, chief executive at Acwa Power.

The company is building one of the world's largest green hydrogen projects in Neom, Saudi Arabia's futuristic mega-city straddling the borders of Egypt and Jordan.

The $5 billion project, which is being developed with Air Products, will have a capacity of four gigawatts and produce 650 tonnes of hydrogen per day.

The planned IPO will give investors “a unique opportunity” to participate in decarbonisation efforts being undertaken by Acwa Power in Saudi Arabia and across the world”, said Mohammad Abunayyan, chairman of the board at Acwa Power.

The company has a pipeline of more than 85 projects under construction or in advanced development, representing 68 gigawatts of power and 9.5 million cubic metres per day of water capacity.

Acwa Power is seeking greenfield growth opportunities in the power sector of around 385 gigawatts, the company declared in its prospectus to the CMA.

“The share of renewables in Acwa Power’s total gross power capacity is currently 33 per cent, which is targeted to increase to 50 per cent by 2030 as the company makes headway towards its net-zero emissions target by 2050,” it said.