Dubai to sell 10pc stake in Empower

Dubai's state-owned district cooling company, Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower), will sell 10 per cent stake through an initial public offering in line with the government's move boost the size of its capital markets.

The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) and Emirates Power Investment (EPI) will sell a billion shares in Empower and reserve the right to amend the size of the offering.

According to an announcement, the offer price range will be published on October 31, the same day as the start of the offering that runs to November 7 for the first tranche, which is reserved for individual investors, and ends on November 8 for the second tranche that is allocated for professional investors.

Empower's IPO is part of Dubai's drive to list 10 state-owned companies and increase the size of its financial market to about Dh3 trillion, as well as set up a Dh2 billiob market maker fund to encourage the listing of more private companies from sectors such as energy, logistics and retail.

Empower, which was set up as a joint venture in 2003 to provide energy through its various plants to the emirate's property sector, has become the world’s largest district cooling services provider, with 84 plant rooms and a network that is more than 350 kilometres long, according to its website. The district cooling giantchas a capacity of more than 1.64 million refrigeration tonnes and serves more than 140,000 corporate and individual consumers in more than 1,252 buildings. The company retains more than a 76 per cent market share in Dubai’s district cooling sector, according to its website.

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