Middle East maintains IPO momentum into 2023, EY says, despite slowdown

Middle East companies raised nearly 16 per cent of the total proceeds from initial public offerings (IPOs) globally in the first quarter, as the region’s momentum from a blockbuster 2022 continued, consulting firm EY said on Wednesday.

Companies in the region raised $3.4 billion in the first quarter from 10 IPOs. That included a $2.5 billion listing by ADNOC Gas, a unit of Abu Dhabi’s state oil giant, which was the quarter’s largest IPO globally.

“MENA IPOs continue to go against global trends in these uncertain economic times, building on the momentum from last year,” Brad Watson, EY’s Middle East and North Africa (MENA) strategy and transactions leader, said in a statement.

Middle East companies last year raised some $21.9 billion through IPOs, Dealogic data shows, more than half the total for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region.

MENA saw a 33 per cent drop in the number of IPOs and a 14 per cent fall in value in the first quarter from the year-prior period.

But this compared with a 61 per cent drop in the global volume of IPOs in the first quarter, with 299 companies going public to raise $21.5 billion, EY said.

“At the end of the quarter, six out of the 10 MENA IPOs had a positive return compared to their IPO price,” EY said.

“Saudi Arabia is still the most active market in terms of volume, while the largest IPOs continue to be dominated by the energy sector,” said Gregory Hughes, EY’s MENA IPO and transaction diligence leader.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said on Wednesday it intends to offer 15 per cent of its shares in its unit ADNOC Logistics & Services (ADNOC L&S) through an IPO on the Abu Dhabi stock exchange expected on June 1.