Shares in Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) surged 15.7 percent on their market debut today after its US$6.1 billion initial public offering (IPO), the region’s biggest since Saudi Aramco’s.

The stellar share rose to AED3.00 in early trade, up from the IPO price of AED2.48, before settling at AED2.87, 15.7 percent up, by the end of the session.

The utility’s shares accounted for over 73 percent of DFM’s trading value on the first trading day. The market closed at 3,568.830 points following AED1.788 billion of trades.

Dewa is the first public entity to go public as part of the Dubai Government’s plan to list 10 entities to boost liquidity in the market. The company plans to pay dividends twice a year to investors.

In the meantime, the FTSE ADX General Index closed at 10,101.850 points following AED1.541 billion of trades, with IHC’s Zee Stores (ZS) skyrocketing to AED104.600 by the end the of the session.

Source: Emirates News Agency