Insurance House has agreed to raise the cap on foreign ownership in the business to 25 per cent just days after its public listing.
The move by the Abu Dhabi insurance company comes as firms seek to help the UAE gain "emerging-market" status from the index provider MSCI.
"We will give an opportunity to foreign investors to participate in our promising venture by building a successful and established relation with them," said Mohammed Alqubaisi, the chairman of Insurance House.
Insurance House's shareholders approved the increase in the foreign-ownership limit during an extraordinary general meeting.
That move followed the firm listing its shares on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) last Monday. MSCI last week delayed until December a decision on whether to upgrade the UAE to "emerging-market" status from "frontier market".
An upgrade could spur an increase in international investment in companies in the Emirates.
Tight limits on foreign ownership in listed UAE companies has remained a barrier to an upgrade to emerging-market status.
Raising the limits was one of several requirements outlined by MSCI in its review of the country's markets. The limit for foreign ownership of listed companies is 49 per cent.
Insurance House's step follows a similar move by First Gulf Bank last week. The UAE's second-biggest bank by market capitalisation voted to increase foreign ownership limits from 15 per cent to 25 per cent.
"What started with First Gulf Bank may well now continue," said Haissam Arabi, the chief executive of Gulfmena Alternative Investments. "A lot of companies will be looking to increase visibility on their stock and get additional attention by increasing foreign ownership limits."
But while an opening up to foreign ownership by smaller companies such as Insurance House is viewed as an important step, allowing more foreign investment in large listed companies such as the telecommunications giant Etisalat is still required, say analysts.
As it stands, non-Gulf foreigners make up 3.31 per cent of ownership on UAE markets, with holdings of Dh12.4 billion (US$3.37bn), while UAE nationals hold 91.5 per cent of equities, according to research by Al Ramz Securities. The remainder is held by other Gulf nationals.
Insurance House's decision was not unexpected. Last month, the firm's main shareholder, Finance House, said it had decided to offer 20 per cent of its shares to foreign owners.
Also last month, Insurance House raised Dh66 million when it sold 55 per cent of its shares to the public, but it barely met the capital requirements to list on the ADX. The share issue was open only to UAE nationals at a minimum subscription of 25,000 shares per investor.
Insurance House offers insurance services to businesses and individuals from its head office in Abu Dhabi and branches in Dubai and Sharjah. It has a paid-up capital of Dh120m.
In an announcement on Tuesday, the MSCI cited the country's limits on foreign ownership in listed companies and lack of experience with a key settlement system as the top reasons for deferring until December a decision about raising the UAE's status.
tarnold@thenational.ae
Day 4, Dubai Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Lahiru Gamage appeared to have been hard done by when he had his dismissal of Sami Aslam chalked off for a no-ball. Replays suggested he had not overstepped. No matter. Two balls later, the exact same combination – Gamage the bowler and Kusal Mendis at second slip – combined again to send Aslam back.
Stat of the day Haris Sohail took three wickets for one run in the only over he bowled, to end the Sri Lanka second innings in a hurry. That was as many as he had managed in total in his 10-year, 58-match first-class career to date. It was also the first time a bowler had taken three wickets having bowled just one over in an innings in Tests.
The verdict Just 119 more and with five wickets remaining seems like a perfectly attainable target for Pakistan. Factor in the fact the pitch is worn, is turning prodigiously, and that Sri Lanka’s seam bowlers have also been finding the strip to their liking, it is apparent the task is still a tough one. Still, though, thanks to Asad Shafiq and Sarfraz Ahmed, it is possible.
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
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Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
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This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
EU Russia
The EU imports 90 per cent of the natural gas used to generate electricity, heat homes and supply industry, with Russia supplying almost 40 per cent of EU gas and a quarter of its oil.
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Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Brahmastra%3A%20Part%20One%20-%20Shiva
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The biog
DOB: March 13, 1987
Place of birth: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia but lived in Virginia in the US and raised in Lebanon
School: ACS in Lebanon
University: BSA in Graphic Design at the American University of Beirut
MSA in Design Entrepreneurship at the School of Visual Arts in New York City
Nationality: Lebanese
Status: Single
Favourite thing to do: I really enjoy cycling, I was a participant in Cycling for Gaza for the second time this year
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis