Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, September 12, 2006: Emaar the Economic City (Emaar.E.C), a consortium of global real estate major Emaar Properties and a number of high-profile Saudi investors, today held its constituent general meeting (CGM) at the Jeddah Hilton following the overwhelming response to its ten-day initial public offering (IPO) which opened on July 22, 2006.
With an authorised share capital of SR8,500 million, comprising 850 million shares of nominal value SR10 each, Emaar.E.C offered 30 per cent of the equity, fully subscribed by the public. Open only for Saudi nationals, the IPO was for 255 million shares at a nominal value of SR10 each. Over 10 million Saudis – approximately half the country’s national population subscribed to the IPO - a record for the Kingdom. The IPO was oversubscribed by 2.82 times and received 2.8 million applications with the total amount subscribed at SR7.18 billion.
The CGM confirmed that the capital of the company has been fully subscribed and affirmed the in-kind contribution for ordinary shares. In addition to approving the by-laws for the company, the shareholders also appointed the first auditors of the company and approved their fees as well as the pre-incorporation costs.
Emaar.E.C is developing the prestigious King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), a SR100 billion mixed-use development to spread over 55 million sq m of greenfield land. Net proceeds from the IPO will go to the development of KAEC.
“Today’s Constituent General Meeting is a milestone for Emaar.E.C,” said Emaar.E.C Chairman Mohamed Ali Alabbar. “The company has been entrusted with a great responsibility – of developing KAEC, a unique project of stupendous dimensions that ushers in a new era of economic prosperity to the Kingdom. KAEC owes its genesis to the vision of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin AbdulAziz AlSaud. Today, the project has become a reality, thanks to his wise leadership and vision for his Kingdom and his people. The project, when completed, has the potential to generate more than 500,000 jobs for young Saudis.”
“With the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) as its prime facilitator, KAEC will play a critical role in the housing, education, healthcare, financial and economic sectors of the Kingdom,” said Mr Alabbar.
“The construction of KAEC is going full-steam ahead. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin AbdulAziz AlSaud has personally toured the site and monitored the construction. His vision and constant support is our driving force and we are aware of the great responsibility entrusted with us,” said Mr Alabbar.
“Emaar.E.C is now entering a new phase: We are taking steps to list the company in the Saudi stock market. The company will hire new staff to execute a wide range of responsibilities and the focus of the recruitment drive will be to hire qualified Saudi citizens, especially in senior positions, to lead the development of the KAEC. Emaar.E.C will be committed to pursuing a proactive role in assessing the progress of the KAEC project and ensuring that it goes according to budget and on-schedule,” added Mr Alabbar.
“The CGM is the first step in bringing KAEC and Emaar.E.C closer to the investors by approving pre-incorporation costs and confirming the in-kind contribution of shares,” said Mr Nidal Jamjoom, Chief Executive Officer, Emaar.E.C. “As the first step we have also approved the by-laws for the company and appointed Ernst & Young as the first auditors.”
A path-breaking socio-economic initiative, KAEC will undertake mixed-use developments in its six components: a modern world-class seaport, industrial district, financial island, educational and healthcare zone, resorts and the residential area. The overall project will be completed in stages, with the first batch of commercial houses and residents expected to take possession in the last quarter of 2008.
