Elm Co., a digital security firm owned by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, surged 30% in its trading debut.
The stock rose to 166.4 riyals ($44.3) on Wednesday, compared with an offering price of 128 riyals. The shares priced at the top of the range, with the Public Investment Fund raising $820 million from the offering.
The listing comes amid a rush of sales in the Middle East, part of an effort to deepen the region’s capital markets, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. are among those betting investor demand will keep the IPOs coming. Elm’s own offering drew $57 billion in institutional orders this week, almost 70 times the targeted proceeds.
The state-owned Public Investment Fund is expanding its foray into public markets this year by investing about $10 billion more into listed stocks. The Saudi Tadawul All Share Index is one of the best-performing gauges globally in 2022 so far.
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