Dubai, UAE — The Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) and the Abu Dhabi IPO Fund (ADIPOF) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a general framework for initial public offerings (IPOs).
The MoU aims to increase the number of IPOs, support local financial markets, and promote the country’s economic stability.
Maryam Butti Al Suwaidi, CEO of SCA, and Sameh Al Qubaisi, Director-General of Economic Affairs at the Department of Economic Development-Abu Dhabi, signed the MoU. The signing was also attended by Mohammed Khalifa Al Hadari, Vice CEO of SCA, and several ADIPOF officials.
Al Suwaidi said the collaboration between the two entities would showcase “the significant progress and promising future of the UAE’s IPO industry, while also contributing to the growth of IPOs in local financial markets”.
The MoU is part of the department’s ongoing efforts to promote cooperation with regulatory authorities and encourage the private sector, which plays a critical role in driving the economy and financial markets forward, Al Qubaisi said, according to WAM.
UAE, Saudi IPO leaders
The UAE and Saudi Arabia will lead the Initial Public Offering (IPO) markets in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in 2023, according to EFG Hermes Holding, a leading investment bank franchise in Frontier Emerging Markets (FEM).Â
‘’The IPO markets in MENA have seen strong momentum last year led by GCC countries, especially UAE and Saudi Arabia,” the Group Chief Executive Officer of EFG Hermes Holding Karim Awad said on the sidelines of the 17th EFG Hermes One-on-One Conference in the UAE capital last year.
The conference was attended by senior government officials, high-profile regional business leaders, investors, and listed companies.
He said that his group is working on five diverse sectoral IPOs in the GCC market which will be launched between the second and fourth quarters of the year.
Dynamic regulatory structure needed
At MENA IPO Summit Dubai 2023 in January, many experts called for the creation of a dynamic and advanced regulatory structure for capital markets and educating market participants on the best practices.
During the summit’s workshops and discussions, securities companies and experts talked about ways of preparing for future listing.
The summit, held at the Museum of the Future, was aimed at mobilizing various players of the IPO value chain, by providing a platform for dialogue on prospects within the sector while allowing investment companies, family businesses and emerging companies to explore developments to regulatory frameworks and the best practices in Dubai’s financial markets.