Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, praised the first listing of a UAE technology company on the New York Stock Exchange after Yalla Group announced the pricing range for its initial public offering.
Yalla Group, based in Dubai Internet City, is a voice-centric social networking and entertainment platform that is planning to raise $139.5 million through the listing of 18.6 million American Depository shares, at a price of $7.50 each.
"Yalla Group is the first unicorn UAE-based technology company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange," Sheikh Mohammed said on Twitter.
"Our digital economy is growing and will remain an integral part of our exports globally."
Yalla Group has a Cayman Islands holding company with operational bases in the UAE and China.
The company "functions as our primary business operation centre".
It houses sales, marketing and other operations, while product development and technology work is carried out in Hangzhou, and financial reporting and other functions take place in Shenzhen, the company said in its prospectus.
Yalla has 5.4 million paying customers and said revenue virtually doubled year-on-year in the first six months of 2020, when it made a net profit of $25.2m on revenue of $52.8m.
It is looking to tap into what it sees as a demand for social-networking and entertainment options in the region.
Its prospectus states there were 137 million active online social-network users in the region last year, who spend an average of 230 minutes on platforms each year, which is "substantially longer than many other countries and regions".
It said the current offering of Arabic online social-networking applications was limited.
The company said 12.5 million users visited its platforms each month during the second quarter of this year, and that active users of the Yalla social-networking site spent about 4.5 hours on it.
Yalla Group is looking to use the proceeds of its listing on marketing and developing its technology.
It is wants to create a market for its shares, "retain talented employees by providing them with equity incentives" and raise additional equity capital, it said.
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Volvo ES90 Specs
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Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
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THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
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45kg:Duc Le Hoang (VIE) beat Zolfi Amirhossein (IRI) points 29-28. 48kg: Naruephon Chittra (THA) beat Joseph Vanlalhruaia (IND) TKO round 2.
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
What is the definition of an SME?
SMEs in the UAE are defined by the number of employees, annual turnover and sector. For example, a “small company” in the services industry has six to 50 employees with a turnover of more than Dh2 million up to Dh20m, while in the manufacturing industry the requirements are 10 to 100 employees with a turnover of more than Dh3m up to Dh50m, according to Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development.
A “medium-sized company” can either have staff of 51 to 200 employees or 101 to 250 employees, and a turnover less than or equal to Dh200m or Dh250m, again depending on whether the business is in the trading, manufacturing or services sectors.
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The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
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