IPO Boom in Middle East Pulls Ahead of Struggling Europe Market
- High oil prices have put more cash in local investor pockets
- Volatility that shut global IPO markets has bypassed the Gulf
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Initial public offerings in the Middle East are outpacing Europe for only the second time since the global financial crisis, as regional investors put oil-fueled cash piles to work.
IPOs from Riyadh to Abu Dhabi have raised $4.8 billion this year, compared to Europe’s tally of $3.9 billion, data compiled by Bloomberg show. It’s a rare occurrence for the Middle East to post a bigger quarter: The only other time this has happened since 2009 was in late 2019, when Saudi Aramco pulled off the world’s largest-ever listing.