Page 99 - AAE PR REPORT - August 2024

8/22/24, 1:14 PM The stock lure: IPOs and dividend payouts are magnets for yield-hungry investors in GCC | The National
Mr Halawi says more foreign institutions are demonstrating higher investment appetite in

the region.

Institutional investors accounted for 66 per cent of trading value at DFM in the first half

of this year.

Interest for emerging markets, the oil The market fabric is changing as the markets in
story and the fact that the region, with
Saudi Arabia and the UAE at the forefront, is UAE have “historically been construed as 80:20
working to attract foreign capital are attracting
investors retail to institutional” investment, Mr Halawi
Amer Halawi, head of research, Al Ramz
Capital says.

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.

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