Page 214 - AAE PR REPORT - June 2024

5/29/24, 3:53 PM DIFC publishes Regional Outlook for Banking and Capital Markets | mea-finance.com
and was 130 times oversubscribed, while Saudi Arabia’s wider plans to privatise

USD 55bn in assets by 2025 reinforce the increasing regional trend towards

privatisation.

From the private sector, the listing of family-owned companies is helping to drive

business growth, succession planning and enhanced governance and

transparency. For example, Al Ansari Financial Services, one of the UAE’s largest

remittance and foreign currency exchange companies, owned by a local family

group raised USD 210mn from its 2023 IPO, while Spinney’s (Spinneys 1961

Holding PLC), which was incorporated in DIFC to list its shares on DFM, thereby
benefiting from its extensive laws, regulations, and stability, listed in April 2024.

Spurred on by the momentum of other, highly anticipated listings, such as Lulu’s

forthcoming IPO, there is now an ever-growing list of demonstrable incentives for

other family businesses to follow suit. A third wave of IPOs is expected through
FinTech and tech-enabled start-up exits, helping to stimulate new industries with

high-growth potential, while creating strong demand from investors and viable

exit options for VC investors.

Dubai as a Capital Markets Hub

Through increased IPO activity, banks, investment banks, brokerage firms and
law firms within DIFC’s ecosystem also benefitted significantly from the

privatisation of state enterprises, with fees for MENA deals alone exceeding USD

1.2bn and proceeds from MENA equity and equity-related deals exceeding USD

13bn in 2023.

The report also highlights how the region’s capital markets are becoming more

mature, driven in Dubai by DIFC’s robust regulatory framework and commitment

to innovation. DIFC is also home to more than 230 investment banks, all of which

are stimulating capital markets.

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