(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Middle Eastern economies need to move beyond conventional financing and focus on IPOs, said Dr Obaid Al Zaabi, Chairman, Arab IPO Summit.
"In order to ensure long-term financing in regional markets, it is imperative for the market to achieve the balance between conventional investors and IPOs as an ultimate source to raise capital. The UAE has already made significant progress in line with this approach with financial market regulators initiating significant developments recently to promote the local IPO markets and support its growth," he said.
Experts from the region had claimed at the start of this year that 2015 will see increased stock market activity in terms of public issuances following the 27 IPOs that raised $11.5bn in 2014, the best performance recorded since the financial crisis. Government efforts in easing regulations and policies related to listings coupled with increased cross-sector spending to encourage economic diversification, have been impacted due to the oil price volatility in recent times.
Dr Al Zaabi added, "The new Commercial Companies Law for instance, contains several new developments that cover public offerings of securities, reduces the minimum free float for companies going public from 55 percent to just 30 percent, and reducing the timeframes for subscription and allotment of shares. I look forward to the discussions at the IPO summit this year and sharing our experience in the UAE in order to shape this crucial debate concerning Arab Capital markets."
The Arab IPO Summit is set to be held from September 14 to 17 in Dubai, and is being organised by UMS International.
"IPO activity in H1, 2015 was driven by the IPO of several companies from Egypt and Saudi Arabia. We are likely to see several companies re-initiating or executing IPO plans in H2 2015, driven by increased market confidence and regulatory reform," said Mayur Pau, Mena IPO leader, Ernst & Young, MENA.
The Summit will bring together financial experts, senior executives and key decision makers from various regional capital markets, stock exchanges, investment banks and top companies to discuss the latest trends in the region and regulations on listings for issuers.
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