The Dubai-based investment company Daman Investments is pushing forward with its plans to list on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM).

“We are trying to get all the regulatory approvals,” Khaled Sifri, CEO of Emirates Investment Bank, the bank appointed by Daman as lead manager for the offering, tells MEED.

Daman announced its initial public offering (IPO) plans last November and set a target to list within the first quarter of 2015.

The company had previously explored the option of listing in 2009, but delayed plans in 2012 due to poor market conditions.

The UAE equity markets have again suffered in recent months due to the impact of the sudden decline in oil prices.

A lack of investor appetite was cited for the reason that Abu Dhabi-based vehicle rental company Masser Solutions postponed its IPO in early February. It was planning to list on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.

Speaking to MEED at the sidelines of a media briefing on 8 March, Sifri declined to put a specific time frame for Daman’s current IPO plans, but said he was ”optimistic” that market conditions would improve.

“The markets have not been conducive for IPOs at this point… I think that with the stability in the price of oil now, it will bring back the secondary market,” he says.

The funds from the prospective IPO will be used by Daman to expand the business both in the UAE and wider region.