Today's Edition
A. SREENIVASA REDDY (ABU DHABI)
Initial Public Offering (IPO) activity in the Gulf region has shown solid resilience in the first half of 2025, despite global market volatility and external trade pressures.
According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) recorded 27 IPOs, raising $4.10 billion, an increase from 23 deals and $3.57 billion during the same period last year.
Saudi Arabia alone accounted for seven of the 10 largest IPOs in the region, including the standout listing of airline operator Flynas Co., which raised $1.09 billion by offering 30% of its share capital.
Real estate also played a key role, with three property-related IPOs among the region’s largest listings. Dubai Residential REIT led this segment with $584 million raised from its May offering, reflecting continued investor interest in real estate.
According to S&P Global Ratings, demand for commercial property in the UAE and Saudi Arabia remains strong, supported by the region’s appeal among high-net-worth individuals.
Although tariff tensions, especially from shifts in US trade policies, briefly affected sentiment, the broader outlook for GCC listings remains optimistic. The EY Global IPO Pulse Survey, conducted in June, indicates that the GCC IPO pipeline will likely stay active in the second half of the year. However, global IPO recovery remains sensitive to geopolitical and macroeconomic conditions.
A potential rebound "hinges on more cooperative trade frameworks, accommodative monetary policy, controlled inflation and geopolitical de-escalation,” EY said.
While geopolitical turbulence tempered early optimism for the global IPO market for 2025, the long-term outlook is "promising," Stuart Newman, Global IPO Centre Leader at PwC UK, wrote in a July report.
"We have seen signs of a selective reopening of IPO markets in the US and China/Hong Kong and a continued supply of IPOs in India and the Middle East,” Newman noted, cautioning that a market recovery will highly depend on global macroeconomic and geopolitical stability.
Equity issuances in the Gulf slightly cooled, with 31 transactions in H1 2025 compared to 33 in the same period last year. Proceeds, however, fell significantly to $8.47 billion, down 51% year-on-year. This dip followed an initial market reaction to US tariff announcements in April, though markets stabilised later in the quarter.
Debt markets, in contrast, remained stable. A total of 34 debt transactions were recorded, raising $23.54 billion, marginally higher than last year’s $22.13 billion. Saudi Arabia led regional bond activity, followed by the UAE and Qatar. Corporate issuers dominated with 55% of the proceeds, while sovereigns and agencies accounted for 26%.
HSBC’s regional debt capital markets head, Khaled Darwish, noted the diversity in the region’s debt issuers—from governments to corporates and banks—calling it “one of the standout stories of H1.” He also highlighted innovation in formats, including sukuk, digital bonds, and local currency markets.
