Abu Dhabi-based petrochemicals company Borouge has attracted demand of $80 B for its initial public offering, as retail investors snapped up shares despite volatile global markets.

The company, which is jointly owned by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and Austria’s Borealis, has attracted orders of $63 B from institutional investors, said the sources, declining to be named as the matter is not public.

Borouge is due to list on the Abu Dhabi stock exchange on Friday.

Demand for the retail tranche, which includes employees in the company, totalled $17 B, the highest for an IPO in the United Arab Emirates in almost two decades.

Asset managers BlackRock and Fidelity were among institutional investors taking part in the offering, the sources said.

Borouge and ADNOC declined to comment when contacted by Reuters on Monday. BlackRock and Fidelity did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Borouge’s total offering was about 40 times oversubscribed.

Bankers carved out almost a week to draw interest in the Abu Dhabi offering, but it took less than an hour before they had excess orders.

Borouge last week set the offer price for its initial public offering, which showed it could raise $2 B in the deal, implying an equity value of $20 B for the company.

Gulf issuers have raised $8.76 B from IPOs so far this year, Refinitiv data shows, exceeding European flotations even as global markets remain volatile in the wake of the conflict in Ukraine.

Gulf markets are highly correlated to oil prices, which have surged since the conflict in Ukraine with Brent crude now trading at around $120 a barrel. 

(Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh; Editing by Susan Fenton)