Page 147 - ALEF EDUCATION PR REPORT FEBRUARY 2025

Last year, food delivery service Talabat and supermarket giant Lulu Group together raised
$3.7 billion, accounting for almost half of total IPO proceeds raised in that period. Lulu
Group is listed on both the Abu Dhabi and Saudi stock exchanges.

Increasing the total value of companies on the UAE exchanges is a priority for the federal and
emirate-level governments, as they seek to develop and diversify their economies, improve
business integrity and attract foreign direct investment.

That includes seeking a greater share in emerging market indices.

UAE stocks make up only 1.4 percent of the total market capitalisation of all the companies
in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, a benchmark managed by Morgan Stanley Capital
International to track the performance of large and mid-cap stocks in those markets.

Anita Gupta, head of equity strategy at Emirates NBD, Dubai's biggest bank by assets, said
that almost AED1 trillion has been added to the market capitalisation in the country’s
exchanges over the last four years. “We expect the same in the next three years,” she said.

• Americana Restaurants profit rises as Gaza boycott eases
• Delivery Hero to use Talabat IPO earnings to clear bonds
• Strong post-IPO performance bodes well for Saudi flotations

The UAE has three principal stock markets: the Abu Dhabi Exchange, Dubai Financial
Market and Nasdaq Dubai.

Ashish Marwah, chief investment officer at Abu Dhabi’s Neovision Wealth Management,
said a total increase in market capitalisation can only come with “some serious new listings
of large companies”.

Dual listings can also help. “We've already seen successful ones [IPOs] here, so you know
that's going to continue,” Gupta said.

Americana Restaurants, the largest food service business in the Middle East and North Africa
by number of restaurants, is listed on the both Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and the Saudi
Exchange.

Dubai-based Aster DM Healthcare has also announced plans to pursue an IPO and a dual
listing in the UAE and Saudi Arabia but only in the next three to five years.

https://www.agbi.com/markets/2025/02/more-dual-listings-expected-as-ipo-trend-continues/