Mena IPO stocks surge 38% in a year

The average appreciation witnessed by IPO stocks in the Mena in the past 12 months is 38.04 per cent, reveals exclusive research by Emirates Business.

This paper tracked 42 IPOs floated since June 2008 on 10 stock exchanges in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) and found that Dar Al Takaful, listed on the Dubai Financial Market, has seen a 198 per cent appreciation since flotation (August 4, 2008) and is the best-performing IPO so far in the past 12 months.

Others among the top five are the Saudi Stock Exchange-listed United Co-operative Assurance Company (appreciation since flotation: 193 per cent), Damascus Stock Exchange-listed International Bank for Trade and Finance (165.2 per cent) and Arab Bank - Syria (152.4 per cent), and Kuwait-listed Al Soor Fuel marketing Company (147.62 per cent).

The Nasdaq Dubai-listed Damas International brings up the bottom of the rankings, having witnessed a decline of 72 per cent since its flotation on July 8, 2008.

Amman-listed Jordan Masaken for Land and Industrial Development Projects (-31 per cent), Sura for Development and Investment (-30 per cent), United Group Holdings - Jordan (-28 per cent) and Sabaek for Investments (-27 per cent) are the rest of the bottom five.

Dar Al Takaful also saw the most appreciation on the first day of its getting listed (437.5 per cent), while Jordan Masaken for Land and Industrial Development Projects saw its share price plummet 42 per cent on the first day of its listing.

Of the 42 stocks that this paper tracked, 26 have appreciated since their flotation, while 16 have lost in value since flotation. IPOs in the GCC (including Nasdaq Dubai) have performed even better, with 19 IPOs witnessing an average appreciation of 53.57 per cent.

GCC-wide, Saudi Arabia witnessed the most number of IPOs (nine), while the UAE witnessed five IPOs – four on the DFM and one on Abu Dhabi Exchange. Kuwait and Muscat exchanges saw two companies getting listed while Nasdaq Dubai saw one. Mena-wide, the Amman Stock Exchange saw 13 IPOs listed in the past year, while six companies listed their shares on the Damascus Stock Exchange, followed by three on the Casablanca Stock Exchange and one on Tunis Stock Exchange.

The IPO of Drake and Scull International was the most oversubscribed at 101.50 times, while the Alentkaeya for Investment and Real Estate Development was the most undersubscribed at 0.06 times.

--Business 24/7