RIYADH: Americana Restaurants International could open another 300 stores after its hugely successful debut on the Saudi and Abu Dhabi stock markets, according to the head of the investment vehicle which owns the firm. The hospitality company, the largest out-of-home dining platform in 12 countries across the region, saw shares jump 12.6 percent to 2.95 dirhams ($0.80) at the opening of the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, versus its initial public offering price of 2.62 dirhams. In Riyadh, Americana’s shares opened 2.6 percent higher at SR2.75 (0.73), versus the IPO price of SR2.68. Shares of the company settled 7.6 percent higher on the ADX to 2.82 dirhams at the closing of trading in Abu Dhabi, giving the company a market value of about $6.5 billion. In Saudi Arabia, the share price of the company finished the day up 2.24 percent to SR2.74. The company is owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Adeptio AD Investments SPC, an investment vehicle led by UAE-based businessman Mohamed Alabbar. In an interview with Asharq News, Alabbar said investors’ turnout for the IPO has galvanized the company to increase its number of restaurant openings, with ambitions to open 200 to 300 branches annually. "However, the huge investor demand for the subscription, which attracted more than SR400 billion of requests, motivated us to increase the number of restaurants to be opened each year, in addition to looking at new investment opportunities," Alabbar said. Regional expansion is already well underway, with Americana Restaurants signing a franchise agreement with Yum! Brands to open 100 Pizza Hut locations throughout Saudi Arabia over the next three years. Recent regional expansions saw the company opening its Krispy Kreme franchise in Jordan in October, and a collaboration with the US unit of JDE Peet’s, which will bring the Peet’s Coffee brand to the Gulf Cooperation Council markets, with the first branch opening in the UAE by the end of the year. Americana is Saudi Arabia"s largest IPO this year and the first simultaneous dual listing process on the ADX and the Saudi Stock Exchange. PIF and Alabbar sold 2.63 billion shares, about 30 percent of the company, in last month"s dual listing. Speaking at the dual listing ceremony, Alabbar said: “The extraordinary demand we drew from a geographically diverse investor base clearly demonstrates our new shareholders’ confidence in our business, our extraordinary team, and our ability to deliver attractive long-term returns. We welcome our new shareholders and look to the next chapter of growth. “Americana Restaurants will continue to provide investors exposure to a unique value proposition in a large and relatively underpenetrated sector, with significant potential for further expansion.” Americana recorded full-year 2021 profits of $204 million on revenues of $2.1 billion. It operates 12 restaurant brands, more than 2,050 restaurants in the MENA region and Kazakhstan, including KFC, TGI Fridays, Pizza Hut, Hardee’s, Krispy Kreme and TGI Fridays.