THE United Arab Emirates’ main oil company and Borealis raised US$2 billion in the initial public offering of their chemicals joint venture, drawing US$83 billion of orders in the latest sign of strong demand for listings in the region.

Borouge’s IPO is Abu Dhabi’s biggest-ever listing and adds to a string of sizable offerings from the UAE and Saudi Arabia, where markets have largely bucked the volatility that’s put a lid on share sales globally.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co and Vienna-based Borealis sold 3 billion shares at 2.45 dirhams each in the deal, valuing Borouge at US$20 billion. The demand amounted to an oversubscription level of almost 42 times.

Oil’s almost 60 per cent surge this year to more than US$120 a barrel has helped draw foreign flows to the region’s markets, which have been some of the world’s best performers this year. Many recent offerings in Dubai and Saudi Arabia have attracted tens of billions of dollars of demand.

Borouge drew interest from the likes of BlackRock and Fidelity, people with knowledge of the matter said last week, mirroring the global demand seen for the landmark listing of Dubai’s main utility, known as Dewa, in April.

High energy prices have boosted efforts by governments in the Middle East to list assets and fund the transition of their economies to a post-fossil fuel world. Last year, Adnoc sold stakes in 2 units, Adnoc Drilling and fertiliser firm Fertiglobe, via IPOs.

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Abu Dhabi-based Borouge makes speciality plastics for manufacturing and consumer goods. It has said it will pay US$975 million in dividends for the financial year 2022, rising to at least US$1.3 billion for 2023.

Borouge’s shares will start trading on Jun 3. Citigroup, First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC and Morgan Stanley are the joint global coordinators for the IPO. BLOOMBERG