Saudi Arabia leads IPO market in MENA region during 2020, with four listings totaling US$1.45 billion

Saudi Arabia leads IPO market in MENA region during 2020, with four listings totaling US$1.45 billion

 According to the EY MENA IPO Eye Q4 2020 report, the MENA region saw nine IPOs raise proceeds of US$1.86 billion, a fall of 40% in total issuances and 94% in total proceeds when compared with 2019. Out of the nine issuances, six were in the real estate sector, of which two were real estate investment trusts (REITs), with the remaining in the health care, consumer staples and insurance sectors. Despite a subdued annual picture, Q4 2020 rebounded after a quiet Q2 and one IPO in Q3, with four IPOs in the MENA region raising US$925 million in total. Although the number of IPOs decreased by 33% and proceeds were down 97% compared with the same quarter in 2019, Q4 did have the highest proceeds of 2020. Globally, IPO numbers continued to pick up with 1,363 IPOs taking place in 2020, a 19% rise when compared with the previous year. Additionally, proceeds increased by 29% from 2019, rising to US$268 billion - the highest proceeds since 2010's record of US$290.2 billion raised via 1,361 IPOs. Matthew Benson, EY MENA Strategy and Transactions Leader, says:"A decline in economic growth and significant disruption across various industries caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, together with a decrease