Space42 shares debut on Abu Dhabi bourse following Bayanat-Yahsat merger

The newly formed company plans to launch a communication satellite next month

Peng Xiao, group chief executive of G42, rings a bell to mark the listing of Space42 on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. Victor Besa / The National

Space42, the UAE-based AI-powered SpaceTech company created following the merger of Bayanat and Yahsat, made its trading debut on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange on Tuesday.

Shares rose slightly after opening at Dh2.38 each, but ended the day flat with the company's market capitalisation at Dh11.33 billion. The company's shares are trading under the symbol “SPACE42”.

Space42 was created after Bayanat, an AI-powered geospatial solutions provider owned by G42, merged with Al Yah Satellite Communications Company, better known as Yahsat, the UAE’s flagship satellite solutions provider.

The transaction, announced in December last year and approved by shareholders in April, was executed through a share swap, with Bayanat remaining as the legal entity. The shareholders of Bayanat and Yahsat will own 54 per cent and 46 per cent of the merged entity respectively, the two companies said at the time.

The merger provides an opportunity for shareholders “to participate in a new journey in space, because the space industry is fascinating and carries a lot of potential”, Karim Sabbagh, managing director of Space42, told The National.

“Our aspiration from day one is to think about 'how do we extend our reach globally?' So we want to be very successful in the UAE, we want to be very successful in the region, but equally important, we want to leave our mark on global societies and economies.”

The importance of the space sector is growing globally amid increasing use of satellites for weather prediction and communication. A World Economic Forum report indicates that the global space economy could be worth $1.8 trillion by 2035, up from $630 billion last year, growing at about twice the rate of global gross domestic product growth.

The UAE, the Arab world's second-largest economy, has the largest space sector in the region in terms of investment size and diversity. In 2022, the Emirates launched a Dh3 billion fund to support its space programme and a new initiative to develop radar satellites.

Space42 plans to continue investing as plans of its future growth strategy. In the satellite domain, it currently has five satellites and plans to launch three more until 2028, including one in November, which will be used for communication purposes, Mr Sabbagh said.

It is also launching satellites for earth observation including foresight constellation. The first foresight satellite was launched in August and others are “going to follow in the next eighteen months", Mr Sabbagh said.

“In the case of foresight, it's a radar signature, which allows us to have this sort of situation awareness at any given time of the day, so you don't need light to be able to take these readings and in any environmental conditions, whether it's cloudy or whether it's rainy."