Even as the world’s economies struggle with high inflation and rising interest rates, the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange anticipates more listings this year, according to its chairman.
“We hope to reach 2022 and have a strong pipeline of initial public offerings and listings. There will always be possibilities as well as obstacles “The chairman of the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), Hisham Khalid Malak, told Reuters on Wednesday.
He said that “Europe is also starting to look better and China is opening up,” making the overall situation “start to seem better than projected, with a soft landing now forecast in the United States.”
Six exchange-traded funds, one blank-cheque firm, two dual listings, five initial public offers (IPOs), and five other listings were made on the second-largest market in the Gulf last year. Additionally, it has a listing on its secondary market, which links investors with more modest privately held companies.
The gas division of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and the international supermarket chain Lulu Group, which has its headquarters in Abu Dhabi, are two entities planning listings this year.
Last year, the Gulf area experienced a boom in public share sales thanks to high oil prices and government-sponsored privatization initiatives.
According to Refinitiv statistics, Gulf issuers raised over $16 billion from IPOs last year, or about half of the total IPO revenues from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
The ADX, which has a market valuation of around $714 billion, outperformed international markets last year by registering a 20% rise for its equity index.
Malak asserted that it is impossible to separate capital markets from the region’s larger economic story, which has profited from increasing oil prices.
He noted that numerous social and economic reforms have enhanced the business climate and had a beneficial flow-on effect on the economy and markets.
The ADX is working to increase its institutional investor base, which grew by 12% last year with participation from the top 25 global asset management firms, as well as relationships with other exchanges.
The emirate’s $1.4 billion IPO fund, which was established to entice companies to list, is also assisting the exchange’s expansion, according to Malak.
We are working with them to assist them organize their business so that it is ready for an IPO if they wish because we have seen potential in a variety of industries, including tech.