Dubai: Al Ansari Financial Services' stock was up a near 20 per cent in the initial moments of its listing on Dubai Financial Market. The stock priced at Dh1.03 is now at Dh1.22 on volumes of 40 million shares traded within the first two minutes. 

Retail investors had been in the vanguard of the offering from Al Ansari, a family-owned business that floated 10 per cent as part of the process. The company derives the bulk of its revenues from remittances and is the dominant player in the UAE market with more than 30 per cent share.

The impression is that the post-listing response to Al Ansari will be a major piece of the conversation as other Dubai and UAE based family businesses consider an eventual transition to going public. And it comes close to the listing on ADX by Presight Ai, the G42-owned high-tech services company, which zoomed to a 179 per cent gain on its first day.

"Al Ansari and Presight represent the polar opposites of what represents the UAE economy," said Sameer Lakhani, Managing Director at Global Capital Partners. "Yet, both underline the growth potential prospects, which is why there has been strong demand. The success of Al Ansari will act as a catalyst for other family-operated enterprises - but also attract overseas investors in search of value propositions."