In 2023, Saudi stock market witnessed 35 IPOs (out of 43 in the region). Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) saw 0 new listings. And despite record profits for 2022 and 2023, less than half of publicly listed companies paid out dividends.
I, like others, have been complaining about the sad state of the market (IPO on ASE 3, Revitalising ASE) and was hoping the private sector would be to break the curse of dried listings in Jordan. To be fair, the first to act should be the government and/or the banks themselves.
In Jordan, the banks (islamic and commercial) own “investment holdings” that invest and own companies in various sectors of the economy. This could be seen as a good boost to the economy or it can be seen as a conflict of interest by competing firms.
The best would be for the banks to IPO these investments (or the holding itself, like an All-in-1 package deal) and here are my top picks:
Capital: 7 mil JODs
Bank Holding ownership: 37%
A legacy establishment owning and operating hotels and well-known restaurants across the Kingdom.
1 benefit of it publicly listing is market research and giving the public more information on how the restaurant industry is fairing (since Al-Qasr group of dining places serve various cuisines, and not just sushi).
Ticker suggestion: QASR,
Capital: 10 mil JODs
Bank Holding ownership: 26%
Another legacy business, Al Amal is a maternity hospital established in 1981. It could benefit in market share after the collapse/closure of 3 old and famous maternity hospitals.
Ticker suggestion: AMAL, BABY
Capital: 5 mil JODs
Bank Holding ownership: 38%
Medmac has been manufacturing agricultural chemicals (pesticides, fungicides, animal vaccines etc.) since 1994. It would complement and diversify the sector base in ASE. Competitor listed in ASE: MOBEDCO
Ticker suggestion: MDMC
Capital: 4 mil JOD
Bank Holding ownership: 49%
Although landline telephones are considered outdated, the telephony business is still huge business. Crystel operates call-centres in the Kingdom serving local and regional clients. It is the type of business that is integral1 in solving Jordan’s unemployment problem. If successful in listing on ASE and raising new cash, it can for example expand by acquiring Maqsam.
Ticker suggestion: CALL, CRYS, CTEL
Capital: 3.4 mil JODs
Bank Holding ownership: 49%
Although ASE has many publicly listed universities, it lacks primary level educational establishments and high schools.
Ticker suggestion: SNDS, EDUC
Capital: 4 mil JODs
Bank Holding ownership: 37%
Another legacy factory, making confectionaries, juices, solvents and shampoos (hopefully not from the same production line). A great addition to the ASE to diversify it away from banking and fertiliser. It can become our own J&J post Oct 7 boycott.
Ticker suggestion: ZLOM, BSKT
Capital: 2 mil JODs
Bank Holding ownership: 49%
Shipping, logistics, customs clearance. More diversity to ASE sectors.
Ticker suggestion: CSTM, PCKG
And now for something completely different:
Abdali (Boulevard)
Prime piece of real estate at the heart of the capital. IPO has been on the mind of the board of management2. This could be the biggest IPO the ASE would see in a long time.
Ticker suggestion: BDLI, BLVR
CliQ
If efawateercom won’t IPO, I guess CliQ would be the next best thing, especially since they are about to start charging a fee for every transfer and the average consumer would have the chance to own a piece of that pie.
Ticker suggestion: CLIQ
Panda
If you are someone who remembers Amman as a quiet little village and feels nostalgic for those warm quiet days, maybe this project could interest you.
Panda was an entertainment centre on Rainbow Street in Jabal Amman. Now, like a lot of the spaces surrounding it, it is abandoned and in a sorry state (except for the recent acquisition of Malhas hospital by the crim Lawyer’s Association). It would be great to revive it with modern and old school arcade games, kid’s centres, bowling alleys, art spaces, a skating palace, cinemas etc. Let’s bring back the cool 90s vibes man3.
Ticker suggestion: FUNN, PNDA
Empty Talk (حكي فاضي)
There’s an Arabic saying: “give the bread to its baker”. Basically banks should be in the business of banking, not in the business of running a business4.
If banks want to expand and get out of their comfort zones, maybe they should look into their own investment banking units and listen to their own investment managers who, for the past decade, have been nagging and constantly suggesting ways of reviving Jordan’s financial industry and capital markets (one ex manager once made a great suggestion: dual listing or ADR5s). Investment bankers have a lot of work in the country and region. Siniora’s recent bond issuance is a good example of what they should focus on, and maybe help new listings on the ASE.
With the red cows 🐄 about to slaughtered to make way for the end of the world, it would be nice to have at least 1 IPO on the ASE, just 1, before Armageddon.
Another suggestion we hear a lot in solving our unemployment problem: cross border cooperation to balance supply and demand. For e.g. Germany lacks nurses/doctors, Jordan has many: https://royanews.tv/news/322500
This is the way forward:
Jordan’s Banking law is pretty clear (art. 38-40): https://www.cbj.gov.jo/EchoBusV3.0/SystemAssets/5cf60a1e-8b89-4d42-b35e-9fbd99ab733f.pdf