Mena IPO value surges 52pc in H1

07/07/2013 11:34 AST

The capital markets in the Mena region raised $2.1 billion through IPOs in the first six months of the year, up 52 per cent compared to the $1.4 billion raised in the same period last year, said Ernst & Young in its Mena Q2 2013 IPO update.

The first quarter of the year experienced the highest amount of capital raised through IPOs in the region in one quarter since 2008, the E&Y report stated. However, the IPO capital raised in the second quarter was 63 per cent lower compared to $1.3 billion last year, it added.

According to E&Y, nine IPOs in the Mena region raised $482.6 million in the second quarter of 2013 thus taking the total IPO value up by 52 per cent in the first half.

Of these rights issues, eight were on regional exchanges - five in Tunisia, two in Saudi Arabia and one in Oman, while the ninth one was an outbound listing from the UAE on the London Stock Exchange, said the E&Y in its report.

Commenting on the growth, Phil Gandier, the Mena head of transaction advisory services at E&Y said: "This is the highest Q2 IPO performance by volume seen in the past five years. Although the volume was up from the second quarter of 2012; there were no big ticket IPOs to boost the overall value, apart from one outbound listing on the LSE."

"The results for Q2 2013 are low in value terms, however from a half yearly perspective, H1 2013 has seen the highest amount of capital being raised in the past five years which is primarily due to Qtel’s $1.3 billion Asiacell Communications IPO during the first quarter of 2013," explained Gandier.

"Whilst most Mena markets still remain slow, the flurry of small listings on the Tunis Stock Exchange shows that the country’s economy is improving after a period of depressed activity. Looking forward, IPO values are expected to remain relatively low in the third quarter of this year as activity typically slows down during the summer period," he added.

The largest IPO this quarter was an outbound listing by UAE healthcare company Al Noor Hospital, which raised $342.7 million on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), said the E&Y in its IPO update.

The second largest was One Tech Holding in Tunisia, which raised $51.4 million on the Tunisian stock exchange followed by Aljazira Takaful in Saudi Arabia which raised $28 million on the Tadawul, it added.

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