Saudi Arabia emerged as the frontrunner in initial public offering (IPO) activities across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in the third quarter of this year, boasting five out of the six total IPO listings, according to a report from EY. The transactions collectively raised $330 million, with Lumi Rental Co. on Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index leading the pack at $291 million. As part of the Vision 2030 initiative, Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification was evident in the listing of firms, with three IPOs from the transportation sector contributing $302 million to the total IPO proceeds.
The MENA region, despite experiencing a 14 percent decrease in the number of IPOs and a 66 percent drop in proceeds compared to the same period last year, maintained strong investor confidence. The report highlighted that 21 out of the 29 year-to-date IPOs concluded the third quarter of 2023 with gains in share price since their listing. The outlook for the remainder of 2023 and 2024 appears promising, driven primarily by Saudi Arabia, which has already witnessed three listings in the fourth quarter. The Qatar stock exchange also played a notable role with MEEZA QSTP securing the second-largest MENA IPO of Q3, raising $193 million. Expectations remain optimistic for a healthy number of IPOs in the MENA markets based on the current pipelines.