N Dubai Ports World to Sell 20% Stake in Middle East’s Biggest Flotation

Dubai is set to launch the largest ever stock market flotation in the Middle East, selling a 20 per cent stake in Dubai Ports World for around $4bn, the company said yesterday. State-owned DP World became the globe’s third largest container ports operator when it paid 3.9bn ($7bn) for P&O, the UK business, at the beginning of last year, and is now thought to be worth $20bn. It owns 42 shipping terminals in 27 countries, having been forced to sell P&O’s US interests following political pressure in America. DP World will launch its IPO on 4 November, with plans to list on the Dubai International Financial Exchange, which became an affiliate of Nasdaq in the US after a deal agreed last month.

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