Tadawul accounted for 38% of GCC IPO volume in Q4: PwC

The Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) was the largest in terms of initial public offering (IPO) volume in the GCC in Q4 2017, with 38 percent of total volume during the quarter, PwC said in a report on Sunday.

The bourse saw the listings of three real estate investment trusts (REITs) worth $209 million in the three-month period, the report said.

Gulf companies raised a total of $2.5 billion through eight initial public offerings (IPOs) in Q4 2017, compared to $234 million from five IPOs in the previous quarter this year.

Dubai Financial Market and Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange led GCC IPO activity in terms of proceeds, with two major offerings raising $2.2 billion. Muscat Securities Market saw three IPOs, which raised total proceeds of $82 million.

Meanwhile, the total number of GCC IPOs increased significantly in 2017 to reach 28, compared to four in 2016, driven by increased listing activity on Tadawul’s NOMU parallel market.

Nomu reported nine IPOs, or 32 percent of 2017 GCC volume.

Proceeds raised from IPOs in the region during 2017 were higher by $2.5 billion compared to 2016, mainly due to the $1.3 billion IPO proceeds raised by Emaar Development PJSC and $850 million raised by ADNOC Distribution.

According to PwC, Q4 2017 remained a strong quarter for debt issuers in the GCC, with the governments of Saudi Arabia and the Abu Dhabi issuing international bonds worth $12.5 billion and $10 billion respectively.

"The outlook for 2018 looks positive, with a strong diversified IPO pipeline subject of course to volatility arising from geopolitical factors,” said Steve Drake, head of PwC’s Capital Markets and Accounting Advisory Services in the Middle East.

“The spotlight will remain on Aramco’s IPO, in 2018 which if it comes to market will be the largest global IPO ever.”

Separately, global IPO activity in Q4 recorded total proceeds of $63.5 billion from 370 IPOs.