-
The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) will focus on attracting more private sector entities to list on the local bourse as the government has already pledged to list 10 state-linked firms. Refinitiv data shows $8.5 billion in proceeds from five IPOs in 2022. Last year, four went public: DEWA, Empower, Tecom Group and Salik.
-
DFM is working to enhance liquidity – a key market concern – and boost market participation, including by bringing in institutionally focused funds and a diverse range of brokerage firms. The emirate has done phenomenally well in terms of GDP and population growth as well as foreign direct investment projects.
Why it matters
The UAE and GCC region have seen an uptick in IPOs as economies recover from the pandemic and bolstered by high oil prices. In 2021, Dubai announced 10 public entities would be listed on the DFM, with some already listed and the remainder to be listed in due course. All IPOs were heavily oversubscribed.