• Noon is weighing a dual listing in Saudi Arabia and the UAE within two years, pending profitability improvements.
• The e-commerce giant is testing autonomous delivery vans and three-wheelers to cut costs by leasing instead of buying.
• Beyond IPO plans, Noon is eyeing M&A opportunities and market expansion, including a potential push into India’s e-commerce sector.

Noon

MENA e-commerce giant, Noon, is considering launching a stock market listing within the next two years. 

This comes, simultaneously, as it is now pushing autonomous delivery. This is an effort to cut down costs with plans to lease the robots rather than purchasing  them. Moreover, this would mean that the self-driving vans and three-whelled vehicles would work continuously without rest. Thus, it would allow Noon to cut down its driving force. 

The e-commerce group sells everything from laptops to groceries to cleaning products across Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt. Since its launch in 2016, it has raised USD 2.7 billion and its valuation is now close to USD 10 billion.

Going Public

In an interview with the Financial Times, Noon founder and chair Mohamed Alabbar,  said that a listing was possible within 24 months. Furthermore, the group plans to list in both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Founded in 2016, Mohamed Alabbar started Noon with an investment from Saudi’s Public Investment Fund. This was in an effort to challenge local and online shopping players.

Up next, besides the IPO. Noon is aiming to forge possible collaborations, seeking more mergers and acquisitions. This is in its pursuit to break into other markets including India.

Additionally, Noon’s latest push has been delivering fresh food. This has helped it become one of the market leaders in grocery in the UAE. However, Alabbar disclosed that the company was almost profitable and it would need to show  profitability before going public.