More Mideast IPOs expected in Q4

More initial public offerings (IPO) are expected to take place in the MENA region in the final quarter of 2009 as the impact of the global economic crisis eases, a new report has said.

According to Zawya's IPO Quarterly Bulletin, IPOs in the region are currently down by 84 percent for the year to date, compared to the same period in 2008.

During the third quarter of 2009, MENA markets raised just over $841m in four IPOs compared to $1.1bn in seven IPOs in the same quarter of 2008, the report added.

"This marked the beginning of stabilisation in the IPO market and an increase in activity in the fourth quarter is expected," Zawya said in the report.

It said that Saudi Arabia accounted for nearly half of the proceeds of the year's IPOs to date and for eight out of a total of 13 issues.

Last month, HSBC said the market for initial IPOs in the Gulf would reopen as stock markets and the oil price recover, and bankers expect a few companies to test the waters when Ramadan ends.

"Institutional investors are starting to again take more interest in the region as valuations ... relative to other emerging markets, look more enticing," said Michael Bevan, HSBC's head of equity capital markets in the Middle East and North Africa.

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