Share offerings in Saudi Arabia have attracted significant interest from investors, with major IPOs generating billions of riyals in orders in recent times, according to a report.

Four companies in Saudi Arabia alone recorded a combined SAR 659 billion riyals ($176 billion) in orders, as institutional investors flocked to their initial public offerings (IPOs) over the last two years, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

Earlier this month, institutional investors logged SAR 341 billion in orders for the share offering of Dr. Soliman Abdul Kader Fakeeh Hospital, the news agency said, citing its compiled data.

Saudi Manpower Solutions Co. recorded orders valued at SAR 115 billion, which is 128 times more than the shares made available to fund managers.

Rasan Information Technology Co. generated SAR 108.6 billion in orders, while Miahona, a water treatment company, drew SAR 94.4 billion in orders.

“There is a notable surge in demand and a rush to the market,” Marwan Haddad, lead portfolio manager for Middle East and North Africa equities at Azimut, told Bloomberg.

“The high demand can be attributed to several factors: an influx of hedge fund managers, substantial appetite from retail investors facilitated by up to 10 times leverage from banks, and the ease of subscribing through digital channels.”

(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria) seban.scaria@lseg.com