RIYADH – National Commercial Bank (NCB), Saudi Arabia's largest lender by assets, is seeking to sell a 15 percent stake on the Saudi Stock Exchange in the fourth quarter, according to two people familiar with the matter. Other companies planning share sales amid the Tadawul's surge include ACWA Power International, a Saudi Arabian energy producer, which earlier this year hired Saudi Fransi Capital to advise on a sale that could raise as much as $1.1 billion, two people with knowledge of the matter said.
Samba Financial Group (SAMBA) in February said it was appointed financial adviser for an offering of shares in the cargo unit of Saudi Arabian Airlines, while Tadawul chief executive officer Adel Al Ghamdi said in May that the stock exchange was also planning to go public.
NCB submitted plans for the initial public offering to the nation's Capital Market Authority last week, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private.
The regulator may fast track the approval so that the share sale can take place before the end of the year, they said.
The IPO of NCB, which could raise about SR16 billion ($4.3 billion) according to Riyad Capital, would make it the world's largest such sale this year, surpassing Japan Display Inc. (6740)'s $3.1 billion offering in March. Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is expected to raise as much as $20 billion from its IPO later this month, a deal that has the potential to be the largest offering in US history.
NCB said on April 9 that it had appointed HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA) and Gulf International Bank BSC as financial advisers on its planned sale. The CMA declined to comment, while NCB didn't respond to phone and email requests for comment.
Saudi Arabia's Tadawul All Share Index is the sixth best performing stock market in the world this year in dollar terms, having risen 30 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. – Agencies
