Saudi firms set to raise up to SR100B
dubai — Saudi Arabia will see a very strong pipeline of IPOs next year, with companies forecast to raise between SAR70 billion to SR100 billion through listings, said a senior official of AlKhair Capital, a Saudi-headquartered investment institution.
“Roughly, based on expectations, the Saudi market will see around SR70 billion to SR100 billion of listings next year, mainly from the finance, manufacturing, retail and real estate sectors,” said Naveed Aurakzai, CEO, Alkhair Capital.
“It will be either financial institution or mortgage companies who will list on Tadawul. There will be also asset-backed companies which have recurring income in malls, apartments and offices and might merge together and hit the markets. Over the last few years, the IPOs market has been rather slow. But now again there are a lot of entities that will list themselves with the help of Tadawal and CME which are encouraging companies to come and list on the bourse,” Aurakzai told Khaleej Times in an interview on Tuesday in Dubai.
He revealed that, as per his knowledge, 5-6 companies are currently planning to list on Saudi market, but there will be much more that will come to the market. Hence, his company will launch an IPO fund in early next year to invest in the public offerings. “We are
Saudi market will see listings next year, mainly from the finance, manufacturing, retail and real estate sectors
Naveed Aurakzai, CEO, Alkhair Capital
aware of 5-6 IPOs, but the market is much deeper,” Aurakzai said during a roundtable discussion at Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) to discuss the growth drivers for Middle East markets.
Aurakzi sees services industry, Fintech and technology sectors will be the main driver for the UAE’s economy in the coming years.
“Services sectors will see substantially growth due to high oil prices and new forms being introduced in the form of 10-years visas,” he added.
Anwar Abu Sbaitan, senior executive officer, Kamco, said healthcare, education, space and clean energy are some of the sectors that will witness strong growth in the UAE. He also pointed out that the middle class in on the rise in the GCC but outside the region, this important segment of any economy on the decline and needs to be addressed. Citing an example, he revealed that in 1971, the UAE’s GDP was just five per cent of Egypt’s but now Emirates’ GDP is bigger than Egypt.