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Dubai stock market has ‘capacity for more IPO’, seeks quality companies, says top official
'We need a company that brings the new Dubai element and creates a template for others,' he said
- PUBLISHED: Wed 7 May 2025, 1:04 PM
Dubai stock market has “capacity for more IPOs” but from quality companies as it rejected 6 to 10 companies over the past few years, a senior official said on Wednesday.
“We've been super successful when it comes to bringing in infrastructure type of assets into the market. There are new-age companies that will make up a big part of Dubai's GDP as we progress. They need to be in the market so that investors can price that in within the GDP. We need a company that presents future growth. We need a company that brings this new Dubai element and creates a template for others,” Hamed Ali, CEO of Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and Nasdaq Dubai, said during a fireside chat at the Capital Market Summit.
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Without naming the companies, he added that there are some shipping and logistics companies that could be “fantastic additions” to the market.
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Dubai Financial Market saw three IPOs raising Dh10.48 billion in 2024, including the world’s largest technology IPO, Talabat, which raised Dh7.5 billion. All three IPOs – Talabat, Spinney and Parkin – saw massive oversubscription. Parkin’s Dh1.57 billion IPO saw a massive oversubscription level of 165 times – the highest ever in DFM history.
This shows that there is plenty of liquidity in the market, looking for opportunities.
Ali added that a number of international and local investors are asking for better allocation after local IPOs saw heavy oversubscription, resulting in investors not getting enough allocations.
“We will keep the momentum up when it comes to the IPOs,” he said, adding that local bourses have the technology to reduce time and cost of the listing on the market. “We definitely have the population and the concentration of businesses in Dubai, so it makes sense for us to give local companies a platform to come into the market.”
Ali said that in the initial screening process, they focus on yielding types of assets on the market, businesses that offer growth opportunities to investors, and the quality of the management and utility.
He noted that the stock exchange’s relationship with Talabat lasted for three years before the IPO.
“It's very important that you establish a level of understanding before we decide that the company is suited (for IPO). We rejected about six to 10 companies over the past three years. These were companies that were coming into the market. They did not understand how to develop a governing system, were not sustainable and [did not know] how to give a return on their investments. There needs to be a clear narrative,” he said.
He added that when companies approach the bourse for listing, they specifically ask about their business planning and equity story. “If that is appealing, it means they are market-ready.”
