Persian Gulf IPO Lull Persists as Companies Have Cash, SEI Says - Bloomberg

The drought in Persian Gulf initial public offerings will probably continue this year as most of the region’s privately owned companies don’t need to raise funds from share sales to expand, SEI Investments Co. (SEIC) said.
“The good companies remain very cash-flow positive in the region,” Jahangir Aka, the head of SEI Investments Middle East, whose parent has $195 billion in assets under management, said in Dubai on Jan. 3. “Their ability to expand on their own working capital is very much there.”
Al Habtoor Group LLC, a Dubai-based group controlled by billionaire Khalaf Al Habtoor, last month delayed an IPO as trading volume failed to rebound. The company invested about 5.9 billion dirhams ($1.6 billion) in the hospitality industry last year as it undertakes projects including the Waldorf Astoria on artificial islands off the emirate’s coast.
Persian Gulf IPO Lull Persists as Companies Have Cash, SEI Says - Bloomberg