Deal activity in the Middle East will see limited impact from rising conflict between Israel and Hamas, Bloomberg Television reported, citing Citigroup Inc.’s regional head of investment banking Miguel Azevedo,
 
“So far, it’s a very muted impact,” Azevedo told the news agency, adding, “If it stays contained, we don’t really believe there will be much of an impact.”
 
He stated that the impact of the recent US inflation data has further fuelled speculation about potential rate hikes.
 
Despite “nervous and volatility" in markets, the IPO scene in the Middle East region is "resilient", the report said, adding Azevedo expects next year’s pipeline to remain “very solid”.
 
Turkish-American consultant and economist Nouriel Roubini said markets are discounting the risk of a major war where Iran and Lebanon get involved, resulting in oil supply disruption from the Gulf and a massive economic impact, Bloomberg reported.

In August, global accounting firm EY said that the MENA IPO market registered 23 IPOs, down 4% yearly, in the first six months of 2023, valued at $5.2 billion.

The MENA region has a promising pipeline for the rest of the year, particularly from Saudi Arabia, EY said in a report, adding that 23 Saudi companies have announced their listing plans on the Tadawul for H2 2023.

Bucking the global trend, IPO activity in the MENA region continued to gather momentum with a total of $1.8 billion in proceeds from 13 IPOs in Q2 2023, the report noted.

(Editing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@lseg.com)