DOHA: PwC Middle East’s latest IPO Watch report reveals that GCC equity markets continued to attract capital and investor interest in Q2 2025, raising $2.4bn across 4 main market IPOs and 8 listings on Saudi Arabia’s Nomu Parallel Market. Despite volatile equity markets early in the quarter, regional indices demonstrated resilience, reinforcing the region’s position as a hub for capital markets activity.
IPO proceeds in Q2 2025 were broadly in line with the same period last year ($2.6bn in Q2 2024), despite a decline in the number of listings. Notably, three IPOs raised over $500m each, reflecting larger deal size and sustained investor appetite.
Saudi Arabia remained the most active market, accounting for 76% of IPO proceeds, supported by landmark listings like Flynas, the first airline IPO in the GCC in more than 15 years, and Specialized Medical Co., which raised $500 million in June.
In the UAE, the Dubai Residential REIT IPO marked the first REIT listing since 2014 and underlined renewed momentum in real estate and alternative assets.
The DFM and ADX both rebounded strongly from early-quarter volatility, gaining 15% and 7% respectively, with the DFM benefiting from positive performance across the real estate, financials and industrials sectors.
“The global market volatility at the start of Q2, driven by uncertainty over global trade tariffs, understandably prompted some companies to reassess their IPO plans. Despite slower IPO activity across the GCC, Tadawul and DFM witnessed landmark IPOs such as Flynas and Dubai Residential REIT. The outlook remains cautiously optimistic for the remainder of the year subject to macroeconomic and geopolitical factors,” said Muhammad Hassan (pictured), Capital Markets Leader, Partner at PwC Middle East.
