Gulf IPO market shows signs of recovery from wartime slowdown

The Gulf IPO market is showing signs of reviving after a slowdown triggered by the Iran war, with companies across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar preparing listings for the second half of the year if market conditions improve. 

Bankers at Citigroup and HSBC said they have strong pipelines of equity offerings, while Saudi Arabia continues to lead the region’s expected deal flow, Bloomberg reports. 

Companies preparing for potential listings include NourNet, Master Works, ArcelorMittal Tubular Products Jubail, AlKhorayef Petroleum, Health Water Bottling Co., Ninja and Etihad Salam Telecom, the news agency said. 

Rikaz, a developer which has projects across Saudi Arabia, including in Riyadh and Islam’s holy city of Mecca, is among those weighing up a future listing to fund its expansion across Saudi Arabia. “We believe that if and when the IPO is the right solution, we will do it,” CEO Khalid Al Gahtani told Arabian Gulf Business Insight. 

A number of Saudi developers had originally planned to sell shares this year, but pressures from the Iran war have seen new listings fall to an eight-year low in the kingdom. IPOs across the Gulf have raised just over $1 billion so far this year, the weakest first-half performance since 2021.