The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) raised total proceeds of $3.6 billion from 23 initial public offerings (IPOs) during the first six months of 2024, marking a year-on-year decline in value by 32 percent compared to the first half of 2023, when they raised $5.3 billion from 21 offerings.
The latest report from the Kuwait Financial Center (Markaz) titled ‘Initial Public Offerings (IPO) in the GCC markets’ reveals that Saudi Arabia led the region in terms of proceeds from IPOs during the first half (H1) of 2024. The Kingdom raised $2.1 billion from 19 offerings, making up 59 percent of total GCC IPO proceeds. This marks a 141 percent increase in the value of Saudi IPOs compared to H1 of 2023.
In the UAE, proceeds reached $1.3 billion with three IPOs constituting 37 percent of total proceeds. However, this marked a decline of 67 percent in UAE proceeds compared to the same period of last year. Meanwhile, in Kuwait, IPO proceeds amounted to $147 million during H1 with one offering constituting 4 percent of total GCC IPO proceeds.
Healthcare sector leads region’s IPO activity
The healthcare sector accounted for nearly 22 percent of the total proceeds from IPOs during H1 through three offerings amounting to a total of $788 million in proceeds. Leading the sector’s growth was the Dr. Soliman Fakeeh Hospital IPO, which raised $764 million.
The GCC’s technology sector raised over $515 million through the Alef Education IPO, which made up 14 percent of total GCC IPO proceeds during H1 of 2024.
Following closely came IPOs from the industrials, consumer staples, food and beverages, commercial & professional services, and insurance sectors which made up 12 percent, 11 percent, 9 percent, 8 percent and 6 percent of proceeds, respectively.
Other sectors primarily included companies from the financial services, utilities, capital goods, pharma biotech & life science, materials, software & services, and consumer services sectors.
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GCC IPO markets boom
Saudi Arabia’s market, Tadawul, emerged as the GCC region’s top market in H1 of 2024, recording 59 percent of the total proceeds from IPOs with a total value of $1.95 billion listed in its Main Market and $143 million in Nomu – Parallel Market.
In addition, the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) recorded a total of $805 million, constituting 23 percent of the total GCC IPO proceeds. Meanwhile, the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) saw a total of $515 million, accounting for 14 percent of the total proceeds during the same period. Finally, Kuwait accounted for 4 percent of the total IPO proceeds with $147 million listed on Boursa Kuwait.
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