The agenda of this MENA IPO summit is to discuss the up-and-coming prospects of Dubai’s IPO sector
As Dubai has its eyes set on the D33 target, it will be hosting the inaugural MENA IPO summit from January 23 to 25, 2023, at the Museum of the Future. It is jointly hosted by the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC). The agenda of the MENA IPO summit is to discuss the up-and-coming prospects of Dubai‘s IPO sector. Several prominent international financial institutions are supporting this event such as HSBC, Goldman Sachs, Emirates NBD, and Rothschild & Co.
Taking to Twitter on Sunday Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the UAE, and Chairman of the Higher Committee for the Development of Financial Markets and Exchanges in Dubai, said that last year Dubai was responsible for 40% of the IPO activities in Dubai and generated subscription demand value of 673 billion dirhams. He also mentioned that “Dubai’s global economic momentum will continue in alignment with our economic agenda D33.”
In 2022, Dubai’s Financial Market (DFM) witnessed the listings of five government-related and private sector leading issuers – DEWA, Tecom, Salik, Empower, and school operators Taaleem. These companies successfully raised more than AED31 billion, and their IPOs were remarkably oversubscription drawing AED672 billion of subscribed amounts. Dubai Electricity and Water’s (DEWA) March listing was the largest GCC IPO in 2022. It raised 6.1 billion USD, and the offering size was more than doubled to 8.5 billion shares. Currently, it is the largest listed company by market capitalization on the DFM.
Notable industry experts will be present at the event to shed light on the challenges and opportunities of becoming a public company, as well as how to advance ESG agendas. They will also share first-hand knowledge of the IPO process. The CEO of TECOM Group and Miguel Azevedo, Head of investment banking, Middle East & Africa & Managing Director, Citi, Abdulla Belhoul, will grace the occasion as one of the experts from the private sector.
The MENA IPO summit will also show a roadmap for SMEs and start-ups in Dubai. It will also provide a guideline to these small-scale organizations so they can get a better understanding of the regulatory environment, business culture, and capital opportunities for scaling ventures through to an IPO.
The delegates will also get an opportunity to converse with IPO issuers from the investment and capital market industry and discuss further economic prospects and strategic preparations for future listings. The MENA IPO summit will provide a platform for institutional investors to learn more about regional IPO success stories. Dubai has been one of the primary centers of trade and commerce in the UAE region.
Now as per their 2033 Economic Agenda or D33, the country envisions becoming one of the top three global cities within the next decade. The MENA IPO summit will be the first IPO-focused summit and it will give an opportunity for investors and organizations to strengthen the IPO value chain in the region and align the activities with that of the D33 agenda.