#Saudi IPO market set for bumper year boosted by lockdown savings | Reuters

Saudi IPO market set for bumper year boosted by lockdown savings | Reuters

Saudi Arabia’s stock market is set for another bumper year of stock market listings with several sizeable initial public offerings (IPO) in the pipeline as investors look to allocate a pile of cash built up through the coronavirus pandemic.

After the then record $29.4 billion listing of oil giant Saudi Aramco shone a spotlight on the country’s equity market in late 2019, the kingdom generated IPO proceeds worth $1.45 billion last year despite the economic fallout from the pandemic.

At the same time, total deposits at Saudi commercial banks increased, from nearly 1.8 trillion riyals ($479.88 billion) at the end of 2019 to 1.94 trillion riyals as of December last year, according to central bank data.

“There is surely more liquidity in the market but that is natural after COVID as there is more disposable income to invest,” said Mazen al-Sudairi, head of research at Al-Rajhi Capital in Riyadh.