Saudi Arabia Continues to Lead MENA IPO market in 2020

Saudi Arabia Continues to Lead MENA IPO market in 2020

According to consultancy firm EY's MENA IPO Eye Q4 2020 report, "Saudi Arabia continued to have the most active IPO market in the MENA region in terms of both issuances and proceeds. Tadawul was MENA's top listing venue for the year with four listings totaling $1. 45 billion, which represented 78 percent of the total amount raised by MENA IPO candidates in 2020." Saudi Arabia also saw several new initiatives that have an important bearing on future IPO activity in the country, including the introduction of direct listings on the Nomu parallel market, as well as the launch of their derivatives market. In the fourth quarter of 2020, additional updates related to disclosures becoming mandatory in both English and Arabic, as well as increases in daily price fluctuation limits for new listings on the main market were announced. Commenting on the findings, Abdulrahman Moulay Al-Bizioui, KSA country leader at EY, said: "The capital markets in Saudi Arabia have shown their resilience during 2020, both in terms of liquidity and regulations. The outlook for the Kingdom's markets remains positive for 2021 and as Tadawul continues its growth and status in the international capital markets, it proves to be an important avenue