Emirates and Sudan Bank US$28.5 IPO oversubscribed 8 times

Speaking about the response, an official at ESB steering committee, said: "We are pleased that ESB was met with such a great response from the investor community. This unprecedented success reflects high investor confidence in ESB, which will be the largest capitalised bank in Sudan with a paid-up capital of US$113.5 million and an authorised capital of $200 million."

The official added: "The success of the IPO also means that ESB is now seen as a force to be reckoned with in the Islamic banking sector in Sudan. The subscription process for the IPO has seen queues of investors of all nationalities lining up at receiving banks hours before they opened."

"We consider this successful IPO as the completion of the first step in the plan devised by the steering committee. It will drive our efforts to provide a complete range of Shariah compliant banking products to customers in Sudan. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who participated in this offering and assure them that the final allocation process will be completed as quickly as possible," he said.

The IPO follows completion of the bank's private placement which closed at US$85 million following an enthusiastic response from investors in Sudan and UAE.

Large financial institutions and Islamic banks from both countries have taken part in the private placement including Dubai Islamic Bank, Sharjah Islamic Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank , and Islamic Development Bank.

The offer represented 25 per cent of the bank's paid-up capital. The value of each share was US$1 and companies and individuals of all nationalities participated in the IPO.