Adds details of offer from report and company response

DUBAI, Sept 15 (Reuters) - ALEC Holdings, a Dubai-based engineering and construction firm, will sell 1 billion shares, representing a 20% stake, in an initial public offering, Gulf News reported on Monday.

The subscription period will run from September 23 to September 30, with shares expected to list on the Dubai Financial Market on October 15, it added.

The offer price is scheduled to be announced on October 1, according to Gulf News.

ALEC Holdings is wholly owned by the Investment Corporation of Dubai and operates in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and, since 2020, in Saudi Arabia, according to its website. The Investment Corporation of Dubai will sell the 20% stake, constituting the IPO, and retain the remaining 80%, the paper said.

ALEC said in a statement that as a matter of policy it "does not comment on market, rumors and speculation. Any decisions related to an IPO will be announced publicly in due course."

The UAE's IPO market has surged in recent years, with blockbuster listings from state-backed firms and private companies fueling billions in new equity sales.

After that wave of flotations, activity is shifting toward follow-on offerings, as shareholders from sovereign funds to family businesses use the market to trim stakes.

Gulf contracting firms are benefiting from strong housing demand and a surge in infrastructure spending, from Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 megaprojects to Dubai’s resurgent real estate market.

(Reporting by Yomna Ehab in Cairo, Hadeel Al Sayegh and Federico Maccioni in Dubai; Editing by Kim Coghill and Muralikumar Anantharaman)

((yomna.ehab@thomsonreuters.com;))