DUBAI: The Dubai government is seeking to raise $1 billion by selling the shares of its road-toll operator Salik as soon as next month.
Ahead of the sale, Salik has taken out a $1.1 billion loan from Emirates NBD to pay a special dividend to the government, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter.
The people who wished to remain anonymous revealed that other candidates for initial public offering in Dubai have taken out similar loans.
The report further noted that the toll operator aims to stage the listing in September.
Even though the number of shares that will be offered is still unclear, the Dubai government has previously said that it will retain a 60 percent stake in Salik if it goes public.