Some Middle Eastern firms pushing IPO plans to 2024: Bank of America

Several Middle Eastern companies are planning initial public offerings (IPOs) in 2024 instead of this year, a senior Bank of America executive said, amid worries of a global recession.

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The global IPO market has been in the doldrums since the start of 2022 when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a spike in inflation dampened risk appetite as investors fretted over relentless interest rate rises.

But the Middle East emerged as an IPO bright spot last year and has so far largely held its ground, with several companies listing on exchanges in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in the first half.

“The pipeline is encouraging although we are not expecting a huge wave for the second half. Many situations are more focused on early or mid next year, rather than the back end of this year,” said James Palmer, Bank of America’s head of EMEA equity capital markets, when asked about IPOs expected for this year.

He declined to discuss specific examples.

“Very importantly, the market view of when we get to peak rates is still a dynamic assessment and is feeding the uncertainty. This is a market challenge that we need to traffic,” Palmer added.

The US Federal Reserve paused a 15-month hiking cycle – the most aggressive in decades – at its last policy meeting, but markets expect a fresh rate increase at the Fed’s July meeting.

Some Middle Eastern issuers “feel very good about a belief in the structural shift in the region, broadly defined; that is, the commitment in the region to develop and advance the capital markets, and commitments from local entities to show financial support for them,” Palmer said.

The flurry of Gulf IPOs that began last year was fuelled by state-led listing programs in Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai.

Palmer added he believed foreign investors continue to have appetite for Middle East IPOs.

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