Mubasher: There is a positive outlook for the initial public offerings (IPOs) in the GCC in spite of the volatility at the region's stock markets, Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz) said in a report on Sunday.
In 2017, the number of IPOs hit a record 17, raising $2.95 billion in capital, the report added.
Markaz's report forecast that Saudi Arabia and the UAE to lead the way for IPOs in 2018 as nearly 30 GCC companies are expected to go public.
As for the GCC markets, the report highlighted that the positive start to the year was short-lived since oil prices fell by 4.7% to close below $66/bbl.
The sentiments were reflected in the regional stock markets as well; the S&P GCC Composite Index shed 2.5% during February 2018, Markaz said, highlighting that Bahrain, followed by Kuwait was the region’s top performers gaining 1.4% and 0.5% respectively.
Similarly, the global markets declined after a strong showing in February, the report said. The MSCI World index and the U.S (S&P 500) lost 4.3% and 3.9% respectively in February.
In February, GCC saw a slew of interesting developments. Saudi Arabia has approved a new bankruptcy law in a bid to attract more foreign investments into the kingdom and spur SME growth.
"Though the finer details are still unknown, the revised framework is expected to strengthen the legal infrastructure for companies to confront financial difficulties efficiently," according to the report.
Moreover, S&P maintained its “AA/A-1+” long-term and short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings for Kuwait with a stable outlook for the Gulf nation.
S&P also expected Kuwait’s economic growth to reach around 3% annually between 2019 and 2021.
Furthermore, Nasdaq Dubai launched their first index based futures contracts, linked to the Dubai Financial Market's (DFM) General Index and The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange's (ADX) main share index.
The launch of the futures is forecast to boost liquidity, attract international investments and provide a framework for hedging, the report said.
