gulfnews : Saudi Arabia steams ahead with 47 IPO issues

Saudi Arabia will continue to lead a recovery in the number of new share issues in the Middle East and North Africa this year as economies pick up pace after the 2008-2009 slump.

"Though the number of IPOs [initial public offerings] increased in 2009, the size of the issues declined significantly," said Shailesh Dash, founder of Al Masah Capital.

"We expect this trend to continue till late 2010. Saudi Arabia is expected to witness the highest number of issues," Dash said in an emailed response to Gulf News.