Page 112 - ALEF EDUCATION PR REPORT - SEPTEMBER 2025

9/16/25, 10:18 AM Dubai construction firm Alec to offer 20% of shares in IPO | The National
The company is focused on data centres to grow its business, which Mr Lewis said is “an exciting
space where you potentially can get a higher margin than operating in some of the other sectors”.

Data centre space is a “massive growth opportunity” in the short to medium term, both in the UAE and

in Saudi Arabia, he added.

The company is also currently involved in the construction of Stargate UAE, an AI hub that was

unveiled this year.

Saudi opportunities
Alec is also looking at more opportunities to grow its business in Saudi Arabia, Opec's top oil exporter
and the Arab world’s largest economy, in projects including expansion of Riyadh airport, Expo 2030

Riyadh as well as in Diriyah Gate and Qiddiyah developments.

“There’s quite a lot of opportunities at the moment [but] our focus is within Riyadh, within Qiddiyah …

and also Diriyah gate.”

Diriyah is a $63.2 billion mixed-use development spread across 14 square kilometres near the Saudi
capital, Riyadh, with residences, offices, hotels and retail units.

IPO boom
The new listing comes amid increased activity in the UAE's capital markets on strong investor demand
as well as government efforts to boost the equity markets.

A Flourish map
There were seven IPOs across the country last year, including by Talabat Holding, retailer Lulu Group,

ADNH Catering, NMDC Energy and Alef Education. IPOs in the UAE accounted for 47 per cent, or
$6.2 billion, of total stock launch proceeds in the Gulf region last year, according to PwC data.

The IPO momentum continued this year with the listing of Alpha Data on ADX and Dubai Residential
Reit on the DFM. Alpha Data, a UAE technology company, raised $163 million from its offering, while

Dubai Residential Reit's IPO size reached $584 million.

Across the wider Gulf, $2.3 billion was raised from four IPOs in the second quarter of this year, a slight

decrease from $2.6 billion raised from eight listings in the same period last year, according to PwC.

“The long-term outlook for the GCC IPO market remains promising. A recovery of the equity markets in
the second quarter, stabilisation of volatility and strong pipeline contributing factors to this promising
outlook,” it said in a report.

“However, it will highly depend on the global macroeconomic and geopolitical stability.”

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