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The UAE’s Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) and Etihad Airways have issued notices alerting the public over fake advertisements inviting people to be shareholders in the Abu Dhabi airline.
In a statement to Zawya, Etihad confirmed that it has noted several social media posts falsely suggesting that the airline is undertaking a public share listing on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM).
“These posts also appear to misleadingly advertise a mechanism to invest and improperly use the airline’s branding, despite having no affiliation with Etihad,” the airline said, further clarifying in the “strongest terms” that any conjecture regarding a potential share listing is entirely speculative.
“These deceptive posts have been reported to the relevant authorities in the UAE and social media providers,” the airline added.
In a post on X, the country’s federal financial regulatory agency, SCA, confirmed such a practice of social media advertisements was not licensed by the authority: “The Securities and Commodities Authority and Etihad Airways urge investors not to deal with fictitious advertisements through social media platforms, promoting subscription in Etihad Airways shares,” the alert read.
This is not the first time Etihad Airways has been at the centre of such fraudulent claims. In 2016, the Abu Dhabi-based airline was forced to issue a denial that it had plans for an initial public offering (IPO) when a clone firm calling itself Gerard & Alterman offered Etihad Airways shares for sale to the public. The airline reported this to Action Fraud, the UK’s National Fraud and Cyber Crime Reporting Centre.
A possible IPO by Etihad, which is owned by Abu Dhabi wealth fund ADQ, has been circulating in the media for several months, picking up momentum after Bloomberg News reported in March that the airline had tapped banks for a possible offering. In May, the news agency stated the UAE’s long-haul operator had tapped more banks for an IPO that could raise $1 billion, citing people familiar with the matter.
BNP Paribas and Morgan Stanley were listed as the joint bookrunners on the share offering, with the listing targeted to take place by the end of the year, Bloomberg reported.
(Reporting by Bindu Rai, editing by Seban Scaria)
