The UAE is currently planning 11 initial public offerings (IPOs) with a combined value of more than AED 8B ($2.2B), the highest number since 2008.
H.E. Mohammed Khalifa Al Hadari, the deputy CEO of the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), said that 2021 had been a year of recovery but that 2022 had seen significant growth in local capital markets, with the highest level of IPOs by aggregate value since 2008. He was speaking at the first MENA IPO Summit in Dubai. “There are 11 new IPOs with a total value exceeding AED 8B, including four free zone companies and two SPAC waiting in the pipeline currently,” he said.
“The current flurry of activity is more sustainable than the previous IPO booms as it is part of the wider well defined government strategy to expand diversity to supply the markets. The Dubai government last year announced plans for 10-state owned companies as part of their strategy to double the size of the capital markets to around AED 3T and attract foreign investments,” he said.
On the mainland of the UAE, according to Zawya, the SCA controls activities involving virtual assets and services provided for investment reasons. Both the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) publish their own rules. After Dubai revealed it was preparing 10 state-backed IPOs, there was a rush of listings in 2022. Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) held the largest IPO in the history of the UAE and the EMEA in April 2022, raising AED 22.3B ($6.1B).
Al Hadari reported that the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) had said they could list 13 more firms this year, including four from outside the UAE. The CEO of Dubai Financial Markets (DFM) and Nasdaq Dubai, Hamed Ali, hinted that there might be an increase in the number of private sector IPOs that list on the market in the future.
As the nation recovered from the global pandemic, the UAE experienced a boom in initial public offerings (IPOs). Examples include Fertiglobe on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), DEWA, Dubai Toll Road Company Salik, Freezone Company TECOM, Retailer Union Coop, and Education Provider Taaleem.
