Chairman hints IPO is a ‘first step’
Subdued year for UAE listings
Emirati businessman Khalaf Al Habtoor has revealed plans to list the hospitality arm of his family conglomerate on the Dubai Financial Market.
“We are not in need of recognition or to prove our strength. But we believe that inviting citizens and investors to join us on this journey is a natural extension of our values of transparency, trust, and sustainable investment,” he wrote in a social media post on Tuesday.
The announcement comes during turbulent times for the UAE’s stock markets, as geopolitical tensions, spurred by the Iran-Israel conflict, are rattling investors.
The Dubai and Abu Dhabi exchanges were up just 0.1 percent higher in early trading. They recovered some ground yesterday after a sharp decline on Friday when Israel launched its first attacks on Iran.
Established in 1979, Habtoor Hospitality is the Middle East’s longest established hospitality group.
The division oversees seven domestic hotels and seven international properties.
Dubai-based hotels include the Al Habtoor City Hotel Collection, Metropolitan Hotel Dubai and the Al Habtoor Polo Resort.
Among the International properties are Al Habtoor Palace and the InterContinental in Budapest, Hilton London Wembley, Hotel Imperial Vienna and Metropolitan Palace Beirut.
Al Habtoor wrote that the initial public offering (IPO) could be “a first step that may be followed by other sectors in the future”.
The Al Habtoor Group began as a small engineering firm in 1970. As well as hospitality, it also operates in the automotive, real estate, education and publishing sectors and has a presence in London, Vienna, Budapest, Beirut and the US.
After a busy year for listings in 2024, this year has been more subdued for UAE exchanges.
In the first quarter only Alpha Data was listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. Last month, Dubai Holding launched the Dubai Residential REIT IPO, marking the first public offering on the DFM in 2025.
Abu Dhabi carrier Etihad Airways was expected to go public in 2025 as was Dubai-based classified ad portals Dubizzle and Property Finder.
However, experts have said IPOs could be shelved for now in light of the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, which has placed huge uncertainty on the region’s capital markets.
