The initial public offering (IPO) pipeline in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) remains strong for 2023, with more issuances expected over the next several months. 

The GCC could see between 27 and 39 IPO issuances, which include announced and rumoured offerings, Kamco Invest said in a new report.

“While we expect the trajectory of interest rate hikes, geopolitics, secondary stock market volatility and oil price volatility to continue to remain risks this year,” the investment bank added.

However, the report stated that the prevalence of the above factors did not stop strong IPO activity in 2022.

The total number of IPOs from the GCC climbed to 48 issuances in 2022 from 20 in 2021. Proceeds from GCC issuers rose around three times to $23.38 billion from $7.52 billion in 2021, Kamco Invest said, citing data from Bloomberg and stock exchanges.

The report also stated that the GCC will continue to generate interest for its strong idiosyncratic businesses and family office listings from international investors, given their strong competitive positioning and established reach in the market.

In December 2022, EFG Hermes reported that GCC companies raised about $21 billion (77 billion UAE dirhams), or 23%, out of $91 billion raised through IPOs worldwide.

In 2021, GCC IPOs accounted for a mere 2%, or $10 billion, of the global IPOs. 

(Editing by Cleofe Maceda; cleofe.maceda@lseg.com)