As IPOs keep scoring, will Gulf investors keep funds closer to home in 2023?

As IPOs keep scoring, will Gulf investors keep funds closer to home in 2023?

Dubai: Markets and investors the world over are turning jittery, worried that what seems to be a crisis confined to a handful of banks could spread beyond that. It’s been a punishing week or so, with Silicon Valley Bank, Credit Suisse and First Republic hogging all the concerns. For now. But, through this period, two new IPOs launched in the UAE and there was a blockbuster listing on ADX for ADNOC Gas. In Saudi Arabia and Oman too, IPOs met with overwhelming responses. So, the sentiment is whatever be the crisis playing out in the backdrop from global events, the Gulf’s IPO pipeline should continue to flow near-term. But with listing companies and investors taking on board a whole lot of caution. In an interview, Georgios Leontaris, Chief Investment Officer for Switzerland and EMEA, HSBC Global Private Banking and Wealth, has his say on what’s likely. The pipeline of IPOs in the Middle East remains busy this year, even after 48 deals were concluded in 2022 raising over $23 billion, a three-fold increase compared to the year before. Issuers are keen on tapping investor demand for prized assets in a region which has maintained strong economic resilience despite headwinds in