In UAE, the local stock markets have attracted a new market capitalisation of almost AED21.3 billion (USD 5.8 billion), thanks to three new IPOs since 2024’s beginning, in line with market plans to double its market value to about AED6 trillion in the coming years.
As a result of the new listings and IPOs, the market became more liquid, and more appealing as an investment destination. The nation’s financial markets firmly established themselves as one of the major global financial and commercial centres.
Leading the pack in 2024 was Alef Education Holding, whose market capitalisation reached approximately AED9.45 billion. This was the first initial public offering the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) had seen.
Alif Education started trading at AED1.35 per share after a successful initial public offering (IPO) in which 1.4 billion shares, or 20% of the company’s shares, were sold for AED1.89 billion.
Demand for the IPO was so high that it exceeded the target subscription value by 39 times, even after the individual investor allocation was increased from 8% to 10%.
As the first listing for 2024, Parkin, the exclusive provider of paid public parking in Dubai, achieved a market capitalisation of AED 6.03 billion upon its listing on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) in March.
This is consistent with Dubai’s end-of-year 2021 strategic initiatives to grow its financial markets.
With a total of AED259 billion in subscription requests, and a nearly 165-fold increase in the subscription value, Parkin’s listing attracted remarkable interest from both domestic and international institutional investors as well as individual investors in the United Arab Emirates.
This high demand, which is bolstered by Dubai’s consistent economic growth and population expansion, highlights investor confidence in Parkin’s growth strategy as a solid investment opportunity.
When Spinneys 1961 Holding went public on the DFM in May 2024 after a heavily subscribed initial public offering, its market capitalisation was AED 5.5 billion.
The business drew interest from both domestic and foreign investors, including organisations and private investors in the United Arab Emirates, with a total of AED 71 billion in subscription requests.
The total number of subscription requests exceeded the offering size by 64 times, for all investor segments combined (not including the anchor investor), indicating the highest demand and coverage ratio for non-governmental Initial Public Offerings on the DFM in recent years.