MENA IPO Market Raises $2.5 Billion in Q2

The MENA markets saw 14 initial public offerings (IPOs) during Q2 2025, raising $2.5 billion in proceeds, which represents a slight decrease of 6.2% compared with the same period during last year, global consulting firm EY said.

In its latest report entitled MENA IPO Eye Report for Q2 of this year, Flynas company, listing on the Tadawul main market, led the quarter in terms of capital raised, contributing $1.1 billion or 44.2% of the total proceeds. This was followed by Dubai Residential REIT, which listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and raised $584 million, accounting for 23.6% of the quarter’s total IPO proceeds. The MENA region did not witness any direct listings during Q2 2025.

Compared with Q1 2025, the number of IPOs in Q2 2025 remained unchanged, but total proceeds increased slightly from $2.4 billion in Q1 2025 to $2.5 billion (4%) in Q2 2025, indicating a marginal increase in capital raised despite stable listing activity.

In Q2 2025, Saudi Arabia led the IPO activity in the MENA region, accounting for 13 out of the 14 listings and raising a total of $1.9 billion. After Flynas company, Specialized Medical Company raised $500 million and United Carton Industries Company raised $160 million on the Tadawul main market.

The remaining 10 IPOs were launched on Saudi Arabia’s Nomu parallel market, collectively raising $136 million. The IPO proceeds in the Kingdom during Q2 2025 were spread across a range of sectors, with transportation contributing 44% and health care contributing 21% of the total proceeds.

The Dubai Residential REIT is the first listed pure-play residential leasing-focused Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) in the GCC and the largest REIT in the GCC region by market capitalisation, the EY report said.

In Q2 2025, four out of the 14 IPOs offered a free float of 30% of the company’s share capital. However, first-day performance was generally weak, with 10 of the 14 listings closing below their offer price.

Only five IPOs managed to register gains on debut. This underperformance reflects a cautious investor sentiment amid ongoing global uncertainty, driven by trade tensions, tariff shifts, tightening financial conditions and heightened geopolitical volatility across the MENA region, the report noted.

The outlook for MENA IPOs in the rest of 2025 appears resilient, with 14 companies intending to list on MENA exchanges across various sectors. Within the GCC countries, Saudi Arabia continues to lead, with 10 companies, including Alramz Real Estate Company and Abdulaziz Ahmad Altwijri Trading Company, having received approval from the Capital Market Authority (CMA) as of 4 July 2025.

Non-GCC Countries

Among the non-GCC countries, three companies have announced their IPO intentions: Rakhaa Company for Agricultural Investment and Development from Egypt and Taraji Holding from Tunisia. As of 15 July 2025, Vicenne, based in Morocco, was successfully listed on the Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE).

Sport Clubs Company is expected to debut on the Tadawul main market later this month once it fulfils all regulatory requirements.

In Q2 2025, the nature of proceeds shifted notably compared with Q1 2025. Primary listings declined from six in Q1 2025 (42.9% of total IPOs) to four in Q2 2025 (28.6%). Meanwhile, combination listings, those involving both new share issuance and existing shareholder sales, fell from three to just one over the same period.

In contrast, secondary listings continue to dominate, accounting for nine IPOs in Q2 2025 (64.3%), up from 5 (35.7%) in Q1 2025, indicating an ongoing preference for existing shareholder exits. This shift suggests a cautious capital-raising environment, with issuers favouring liquidity events over fresh equity issuance.