Middle East Economic Survey

VOL. XLVIII

No 9

28-February-2005

SAUDI ARABIA

Al-Bilads SR1.5Bn IPO Oversubscribed

Saudi Bank al-Bilads IPO launched on 21 February is expected to be well oversubscribed at its closing date on 9 March. The offering seeks to raise half of the banks capital (SR1.5bn-$400mn) by selling 30mn shares at SR50 per share (MEES, 10 January). Samba Financial Group was selected to manage, run and supervise the IPO which will largely rely on Internet and phone banking. The IPO...