Middle East Equity

The Financial Conduct Authority’s plan to create a new premium listing category in the UK for companies controlled by sovereign states is already dividing market opinion. The move, put out for consultation on Thursday, looks like a bid to lure to the IPO of Saudi Aramco, which could be the biggest flotation ever, to the London Stock Exchange.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (Adnoc), the upstream, midstream and downstream oil company owned by the government of the United Arab Emirates, is considering floating minority stakes in some of its services businesses.

Arabtec Holding, the United Arab Emirates’ largest listed construction firm, said on Tuesday its rights issue was fully subscribed, raising Dh1.5bn ($408m) for a recapitalisation.

Kuwait Energy, the independent Kuwaiti oil and gas company, is to test investor appetite towards the recovering energy sector, having announced the launch of its long awaited IPO on the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday morning.

Despite a public holiday on Monday and the second round of the French presidential election due this Sunday, the IPO market is vibrant, with two more names joining the pre-summer pipeline so far this week.

ADES International, the Dubai oil and gas drilling services company, is preparing an IPO on the London Stock Exchange to raise capital.

With just over three weeks to go until Easter, the latest wave of IPOs in EMEA is progressing well. One deal was priced on Tuesday and bookbuilds have begun for two more.

The encouraging tone for EMEA IPOs has extended into Tuesday with a rare and successful real estate investment trust listing in the United Arab Emirates, for ENBD Reit.

The CEO of HKEX may be keen for Saudi Aramco to list in Hong Kong but as our columnist Clawback explains, there are more reasons for the Saudi oil giant to bypass the city’s exchange than to pick it for a listing.

Five new IPOs were announced in EMEA this week as the market enters a crucial window in the run-up to Easter.

Hong Kong’s stock exchange and Saudi Arabian energy company Saudi Aramco are potentially a match made in heaven, according to the bourse's chief executive officer Charles Li.

Shares in Arabtec Holding, the largest listed construction company in the United Arab Emirates, surged 15% on Wednesday after it said regulators had approved its plans to raise Dh1.5bn ($408m) through a rights issue to strengthen its balance sheet after a second annual loss in 2016.