Page 190 - SALIK PR REPORT AUGUST 2024

8/22/24, 10:08 AM The stock lure: IPOs and dividend payouts are magnets for yield-hungry investors in GCC | The National
The market is now changing structurally to become more institutional investment heavy,

which is reliable for the long term, he adds.

Sectors attracting interest

It’s a mix of banks, real estate, oil and gas, construction and manufacturing as well as
some of the state enterprises that have listed shares through IPOs, Ms Dabeet points out.

Investors in this region always look for yield and most recent opportunities for investors

were the IPOs and secondary market offerings, particularly by Adnoc Drilling and Saudi

Aramco, Mr Halawi says.

“If you look at the make-up of IPOs, for example, in Dubai, it's been more utility-like
sectors, such as Salik, Dewa, Empower and Parkin. These are stable businesses with high

dividend yields,” he says.

“In Abu Dhabi, we've seen interest in technology companies (Phoenix, Bayanat, Presight),

smaller companies with AI, perhaps cryptocurrency as a backdrop, and also the oil

ecosystem, where Adnoc has been very active.”

Mr Masood says that besides banks, which have traditionally been well-received by retail

investors, real estate has done well, especially over the last four years.

Emaar Group, including Emaar Properties and Emaar Development, and Aldar in Abu

Dhabi have displayed consistent performance. All these names have done well on the

business side and tend to distribute dividends. These factors appeal to retail investors, he

adds.

Shift in investment trends

Within Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul index, some mid-cap and small-cap stocks have performed

much better than larger companies like Aramco and Saudi National Bank, according to Mr

Masood.

https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/money/2024/08/20/the-stock-lure-ipos-and-dividend-payouts-are-magnets-for-yield-hungry-investors-in-gcc/ 7/11