Dubai-listed Arabtec Holding plans to start a series of initial public offerings (IPOs) on regional and international stock markets in 2015.

The plans, which will start to be implemented in 2015, involve listing its construction subsidiary, Arabtec Construction, so that it can merge and partner with local players, strengthen its presence in markets outside the UAE, and become the region’s largest construction company.

“I have five or six IPOs [planned]. This is the new business plan,” Arabtec Holding managing director and CEO Hasan Ismaik tells MEED. “I will IPO these companies to grow more and to merge, because I cannot merge with Arabtec Holding.”

The location of the first IPOs in 2015 and 2016 has not been finalised. There are various options available on international markets such as London, New York and Hong Kong, as well as on regional bourses where Arabtec is already operating as a construction company.

“It will start in 2015 and 2016, we have still not chosen [the location], but we will study,” says Ismaik. “For example, we could IPO Arabtec Construction Saudi Arabia, where we have 10,000 people, Qatar, Kuwait, Baghdad, Jordan. Arabtec will have arms across the Middle East and Africa in the future.”

Arabtec Holding will be the majority shareholder in these companies, which Ismaik hopes will merge with other construction firms, especially family businesses that want to go public. “I welcome any company that has good engineers and good systems. I also advise family companies to [merge] with Arabtec, because stability comes from public companies not from family businesses.”

In addition to launching IPOs, Arabtec is eyeing international mergers and acquisitions that will support its business as it grows across the Middle East and Africa. “Some international companies are now interested [in merging] with Arabtec, because the US and Europe are already [built]. The growth is in the Middle East and Africa, where the backlog is big,” says Ismaik. “Big international companies are interested [in] Arabtec because they have good engineers and good technology, and joining Arabtec [will give] them stability with jobs here [in the Middle East].”

The IPOs will also create new opportunities for investors. Arabtec Holding, which listed in 2004, is currently one of only a few public construction companies in the region. The sector continues to be dominated by privately held, often family-owned, businesses, and Ismaik says this should change.

“Investors ask me if Aabar [majority shareholder of Arabtec Holding] will [buyout] Arabtec,” says Ismaik. “No, it will stay in the market, because I personally believe the cake has to be shared. It has to be for everybody.”

Arabtec’s performance is being driven by new orders. It currently has a backlog of nearly AED40bn ($10.9bn) following major contract wins across the region. In mid-January, it secured a AED5.7bn contract for construction of Jordan’s first themed tourist destination known as the Red Sea Astrarium.

Earlier in January, it won a AED2.59bn contract to build a mixed-use development on Abu Dhabi’s Reem Island that involves building a 61-storey residential tower, together with a 15-storey C-shaped tower.

Ismaik joined Arabtec on 13 September 2012. Since then, he has embarked on a major overhaul of the company that has seen it buy up remaining shares in its subsidiaries Target Engineering and Emirates Falcon Electromechanical Company (EFECO), and form a joint-venture company for oil and gas projects with South Korea’s Samsung Engineering.

It is also close to finalising a joint venture with another South Korean company, GS Engineering & Construction for heavy infrastructure projects.

The full Interview with Ismaik can be read on MEED.com from 7 February and in the 7-13 February issue of MEED magazine.