The UAE’s 2023 IPO listings 📈

After the GCC’s 2022 IPO boom, there has been a slowdown in 2023. But GCC countries still saw 46 IPOs with total proceeds worth $10.79 billion, with the UAE raking in $6.07 billion from eight IPOs (the biggest of which was ADNOC Gas), according to Kamco Invest.

[Download full list of UAE IPOs since 2022 – Excel | 2024 UAE IPOs | 2022 UAE IPOs]

A company may need to adjust its DEI policies and practices to meet regulations when preparing for an IPO.

For instance, each new company floating on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) or Dubai Financial Market (DFM) must meet the 2021 quota for one woman per listed company board, set by the Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority (UAE SCA) in 2021.

The average size of IPOs in the UAE financial markets amounted to about $759 million, Kamco Invest reported – much higher than the average $124 million size of listings in other GCC countries.

[Find out more –NOORA, Aurora50’s network for corporate women |
 The Inclusion Summit, where hundreds of DEI change-makers meet in UAE]

All the IPOs announced in the UAE in 2023:

Al Ansari Financial Services, the UAE money and exchange company, listed on DFM in March. The family-owned company – the UAE’s largest exchange house chain – raised $210 million for 10 percent of the company.

ADNOC L&S raised $769 million in an initial public offering for 19 percent of the business, listing on ADX in May. The company exports crude oil, refined products, dry bulk and liquefied natural gas from Abu Dhabi.

It was created in 2016 following a merger between Abu Dhabi National Tanker Co, Petroleum Services Co and Abu Dhabi Petroleum Ports Operating Co.

ADNOC sold five percent of its gas business and more than three million shares in March, when it listed on ADX.

It raised $2.5 billion, in the world’s biggest IPO so far in 2023. The IPO was oversubscribed 58 times, with its first closing day share price trading 19% higher than its listing price of AED2.37.

Dubai Taxi Corporation listed on DFM for $315 million in December.

Owner the government of Dubai sold 24.99 percent of the company.

Dubai Taxi Company was founded in 1995 and has a fleet of about 7,000 vehicles.

It is the biggest taxi operator in the emirate with around a 44 percent market share.

Bahrain-based asset manager Investcorp Capital began trading on ADX following an initial public offering that raised Dh1.66 billion ($451 million).

Owner Investcorp, which is backed by Mubadala, offered 32.85 percent of the company, up from the initial offer of 29.34 percent.

Phoenix became the first privately owned crypto and blockchain entity to be listed on a Middle East stock market in December. It raised $370 million as it joined ADX.

Founded in 2017, Phoenix offers cloud mining, data centre hosting, crypto trading and Web3 game publishing and distribution. It is also the exclusive distributor of mining equipment MicroBT.

In August, Phoenix began collaborating with Muscat-based Green Data City to develop a $300 million crypto-mining farm in Oman.

PureHealth raised almost $1 billion in an initial public offering (IPO) on ADX for 10 percent of the business in December.

PureHealth played a key role in screening for COVID-19 infections in the UAE and is the UAE’s largest healthcare provider.

PureHealth is owned by Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ and one of the capital’s biggest conglomerates, IHC, both of which are chaired by Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the national security adviser and a brother of UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed.

Presight AI, a G42 company focused on data analytics and artificial intelligence, raised $496 million) from an IPO on ADX in March. It was the second IPO from G42’s portfolio, and was oversubscribed 136 times.