Mubasher TV
Contact Us Advertising   العربية

GCC equity capital markets see improved activity in Q4-18 – Report

GCC equity capital markets see improved activity in Q4-18 – Report
The top sovereign bond issuer was Saudi Arabia with $14.2 billion in 2018

Mubasher: GCC equity capital markets ended 2018 with strong activity after a relatively weaker performance earlier in the year amid macroeconomic and geopolitical concerns, according to a recent report.

Five initial public offerings (IPOs) were conducted in the fourth quarter of 2018 raising $1.03 billion, or 42% of the total proceeds raised in the GCC in 2018, down from eight IPOs with recorded proceeds of $2.46 billion in Q4-17, a report released by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) showed Monday.

For the full-year 2018, 17 IPOs were conducted across the GCC region, generating $2.2 billion, down from $3.3 billion in 2017.

“The final quarter of 2018 ended on a strong note for GCC equity markets despite ongoing macro-economic and geopolitical uncertainties, which are expected to remain in the immediate future," PwC Middle East capital markets leader Steve Drake said.

The Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) topped GCC bourses in terms of the number of IPOs, whereas Boursa Kuwait witnessed strong performance in terms of investment returns, possibly driven by its inclusion in the FTSE Russell Emerging Market Index from September 2018.

Meanwhile, the Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) recorded its largest IPO in terms of proceeds in four years after Qatar Aluminium Manufacturing’s (QAMCO) listing generated $758 million, accounting for 40% of the total GCC’s IPO proceeds last year.

 

Bonds

The top sovereign bond issuer was Saudi Arabia with $14.2 billion in 2018, while SABIC Capital II BV was the largest corporate bond issuer of Q4-18 with $2 billion.

“Despite increasing Federal interest rates, fluctuating oil prices, and global economic downturns, the GCC bond market has shown commendable performance. It has delivered stronger risk-adjusted returns than many other traditional bond markets since 2013,” Drake noted.