DUBAI – The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and Dubai World Trade Center (DWTC) today announced their partnership to host the MENA IPO Summit – Dubai, a major new platform spanning the entire IPO value chain and the only IPO-focused region the region aims to unite peaks.
The inaugural summit, taking place on 23-25 January 2023 at The Museum of the Future, will highlight the strong momentum and promising prospects of the Dubai Initial Public Offering (IPO) sector.
The Summit will bring together industry experts who can share their first-hand knowledge of the IPO process, the opportunities and challenges of being a public company and advance ESG agendas. It will also present a roadmap for startups and SMEs in Dubai, including expertise on the regulatory environment, business culture and capital opportunities for scaling businesses through to an IPO.
The launch of this series of events comes at an opportune time for Dubai and the wider region’s investment community, following record IPO activity – large-scale IPOs have been a mainstay of the region’s business landscape in 2022 and the expected momentum in 2023.
During 2022, DFM has strengthened its role in promoting economic development in Dubai and the UAE as an efficient fundraising platform through IPOs and listings of five government-related and leading private sector issuers, namely: DEWA, Tecom, Salik, Empower and Taaleem.
These companies have successfully raised in excess of AED31 billion and their IPOs have witnessed notable oversubscriptions, attracting AED672 billion in subscribed amounts.
Helal Al Marri, Director General of the Ministry of Economy and Tourism in Dubai, said: “The organization of this flagship meeting is the result of the joint efforts of DWTC and DFM to showcase the favorable momentum and latest developments of the IPO sector. Dubai’s capital markets are witnessing robust IPO and listing activity, supported by the strong fundamentals of Dubai’s economy as well as the successful execution of Dubai’s financial market development strategy in a number of areas.”
“The emerging markets ecosystem and its regulatory improvements have created an attractive environment for various types of companies such as government-affiliated conglomerates, private companies and family businesses to go public and list through a range of listing options to suit their needs of size, growth stage and jurisdiction “, he added.
Hamed Ali, CEO of DFM and Nasdaq Dubai, stated: “With the increasing momentum in the Dubai capital markets in terms of listings and investor engagement, we are pleased to announce the MENA IPO Summit – Dubai as a key catalyst for exploring market opportunities in Dubai to start cooperation with capital market and IPO experts. DFM’s main focus remains on developing a vibrant and progressive capital markets ecosystem in partnership with all market participants.”
Providing a platform for industry-defining discussions, the Summit will offer institutional investors, family businesses and startups the opportunity to explore the latest regulations, best practices and market trends in Dubai’s capital market and learn about the latest regional IPO success stories. Participants have the opportunity to get in touch with important IPO issuers and thought leaders from the investment and capital markets industry.
The summit will stimulate lively discussions among issuers, investment professionals, regulators and companies strategically preparing for a future listing.
Among the experts who will share their insights are Dr. Maryam Buti Al Suwaidi, CEO Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA); Hamed Ali, CEO, DFM and Nasdaq Dubai; Mohammad Al Bastaki, CEO, Emirates NBD Capital; Fadi Ghandour, Managing Partner, Wamda Capital; Thomas Varghese, CFO, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA); Abdulla Belhoul, CEO, TECOM Group; Miguel Azevedo, Head of Investment Banking, Middle East & Africa & Managing Director, Citi.
The Summit is supported by a group of leading international financial institutions, including HSBC and Emirates NBD as Platinum Sponsors, Goldman Sachs, Rothchiled & Co. and Edelman Smithfield as Diamond Sponsors, and Moelis & Company as a Supporting Partner. It also enlists gold sponsorships from BARCLAYS, Al Tamimi & Co, Arqaam Capital, EFG Hermes and Grant Thornton. BHM Capital, Century Financial, Protiviti and Teneo will also join as networking sponsors at the event.
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