UAE Transportation Retain Buy on Parkin; valuation in the fair value zone for Salik

Research evidence excerpt

UAE Transportation Retain Buy on Parkin; valuation in the fair value zone for Salik

21 May 2026

Equities

Transportation InfrastructureUAE Transportation

Retain Buy on Parkin; valuation in the fair value zone for Salik United Arab Emirates

◆ RTA, under a compensation mechanism, to reimburse the Ankur Agarwal*, CFA

VAT levied on Salik (AED471m) and Parkin (AED78m) Senior Analyst, MENA Consumer, TMT & Transport

HSBC Bank Middle East Limited, Dubai branch

ankurpagarwal@hsbc.com

◆ Combination of price hikes, lower concession fee and RTA +971 4 423 6558

reimbursement will likely mitigate the impact

* Employed by a non-US affiliate of HSBC Securities (USA) Inc, and is

◆ Retain ratings, raise TPs on Parkin (Buy) to AED6.50 (from not registered/ qualified pursuant to FINRA regulations

AED6.20) and Salik (Hold) to AED5.84 (from AED5.43)

Retrospective VAT levied; but Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) backstop

limits near-term impact: Salik and Parkin, two Dubai government-linked concession

assets operating under 49-year RTA agreements, have disclosed unexpected VAT

reassessments by the FTA resulting in payment requests of AED471m and AED78m,

respectively. This reflects retrospective application of 5% VAT to toll and public

parking/seasonal card revenues over the relevant periods. Both companies state the

RTA will reimburse the historical amounts under existing compensation mechanisms

through 31 May 2026, and the accounting impact will be recognised with an offsetting

RTA compensation, implying no material shareholder impact from the backdated

charges. Future VAT treatment remains under discussion with stakeholders (notably

the RTA); potential mitigants include passing VAT through via tariff increases,