Dubai: Parkin shares close 35% higher on trading debut on DFM

Parkin Company shares closed 35 per cent higher on the first day of the listing on the Dubai Financial Markets on Thursday, closing at Dh2.84 per share.

Becoming the first company in the UAE to go public this year, Parkin shares jumped over 30 per cent within a minute of the market opening on the back of strong demand from investors. It jumped to as high as 39 per cent to Dh2.92 during the day before settling down at Dh2.84, up Dh0.74 a share. Its counter saw 178.12 million scrips changing hands worth Dh487.02 million on the debut.

Parkin set the price for its shares at Dh2.10 as its IPO was oversubscribed 165 times with record demand of Dh259 billion from investors, becoming the highest-ever oversubscription level achieved on the Dubai Financial Market.

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Hani Abuagla, senior market analyst at XTB Mena, said the stock could see further growth in the coming days as investors showed a strong interest in the company as indicated by the largely oversubscribed IPO.

“The latter has seen bids exceed the offer by 165 times and could see the surplus demand for the IPO arrive on the stock market, lifting the stock and boosting its performance. Investors have been showing interest in IPOs in Dubai and the UAE in general lately thanks to the solid profiles of the companies being offered. Parkin is also displaying a strong financial situation with growing revenues and profits as well as positive prospects due to the development of the emirate as a whole,” said Abuagla.

He added that Parkin's statement about agreements being concluded with major developers in Dubai to manage their parking lots and expectation of a 60 per cent growth over the next ten years also gave a good boost to the investor sentiments.

Saif Khamis Abdallah Al Maqbali, CEO of Smart Trading Institute, said the Dubai stock market was more volatile on Thursday although it remained within a range and could be exposed to profit-taking. “Leading stocks were seeing mixed performances while Parkin made its trading debut with a 30 per cent jump as investors flocked to the stock after an oversubscribed IPO,” he said.

• Dubai: Premium parking with higher fees, new paid zones; Parkin reveals expansion plans