Abu Dhabi firm opens shares to foreign investors

Foreign investors will be allowed to buy up to 25 per cent of shares in newly-listed company Insurance House.

The company made the announcement last weekend just days after becoming the 65th listed company on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX). Insurance House recently completed an initial public offering (IPO) of its shares.

 "This means that now a foreigner can go the ADX and buy Insurance House shares up to the maximum permissible limit. This is going to encourage more trading in the stock and create liquidity," an Insurance House official familiar with the situation, told Gulf News.

 New standards

Commenting on the development, Mohammad Abdullah Al Qubaisi, Chairman of Insurance House, said: "We are setting new standards in the insurance sector through our swift progress and rapid movement."

 Insurance House provides all insurance products except life insurance.

"By December this year, our target is to collect Dh9 million in premiums. We are expecting a break-even in the second year of our operations and in the third we expect the business to become profitable," Mohammad Othman, Insurance House's general manager, told Gulf News previously.

Insurance House shares ended on Thursday 5.45 per cent lower at Dh1.04 on a bearish market.

On the first day of trading, Insurance House shares opened at Dh1.15, touched an intra-day high of Dh2 and ended the day at Dh1.05. Its IPO, which closed on March 9, consisted of 55 per cent of the company's authorised share capital of Dh120 million.

 The founder's share of capital of Dh54 million — or 45 per cent — was subscribed with parent company Finance House taking 36 per cent of the company. The share price for the company was set at Dh1 with a subscription fee of 3.5 fils per share.