Abu Dhabi's Emirates Driving raises foreign ownership limit to 49%

The company, which is part of ADQ, has been listed on the ADX since 2005

The move by Emirates Driving Company is in line with an Abu Dhabi initiative to attract foreign investment into its economy.  Emirates Driving Company

Emirates Driving Company, an Abu Dhabi-based driving and road safety institute, will allow foreign investors to buy up to 49 per cent of its shares.

“This step will help us expand and diversify our investor base ... which enhances liquidity in the Abu Dhabi financial markets,” said acting chief executive Khaled Al Shemeili on Sunday, in a filing to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.

“We are working to attract foreign investors, including individuals and institutions, to buy our shares.”

The decision by the board to approve the increase is in line with an Abu Dhabi initiative to attract more foreign investment into its economy.

Emirates Driving Company is the only driving institute in the emirate.

The company, which is partially owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, was established in 2000 and listed in 2005, according to its profile on the ADX.

The driving institute is part of the mobility and logistics portfolio of the emirate's holding company ADQ.

Emirates Driving Company offers driving lessons and issues licences to successful applicants. It also offers driving courses for light and heavy vehicles, motorcycles and machinery.

It trained about 55,000 applicants who obtained a licence even during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Emirates Driving is the latest UAE company to either open up to foreign investors or increase the number of shares they can own.

Several banks in the UAE, the second-biggest Arab economy, have increased foreign ownership limits after the country eased its foreign ownership restrictions.

The ADX said in January that it plans to double its market capitalisation over the next three years through its new “ADX One” strategy, which aims to increase market liquidity and improve market efficiency.

The ADX is the second-biggest stock exchange in the Arab world after Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul.