Middle Eastern and African markets are expected to see an increased pace of transactions as we wade deeper into 2018 and after a strong first quarter that saw a higher volume of mergers, initial public offerings, and bond sales, than 1Q2017. “Globally, economic growth and relatively cheap funding have encouraged firms to buy rivals. In the Middle East, lower oil prices are prompting governments to seek external funding from bond and asset sales,” according to Bloomberg.

“Asset sales from Saudi power plants and football clubs to African energy firms are set to help deliver a bumper year for [transactions] in the region,” Bloomberg writes, saying that “mergers and initial public offerings in the first three months of 2018 were higher in value than in the same period last year, while bond sales were the second-highest on record. … IPOs raised USD 3.2 bn in the first quarter, making it the most active start to a year since 2015, the data show. Completed mergers worth USD 4.2 bn exceeded the USD 3.6 bn a year earlier.” Saudi and the UAE are the heroes of the story, with Egypt getting no mention.

Investment banks are expecting this momentum to pick up, with more sovereign debt issuances on the horizon, as well as IPOs and M&As in the pipeline, including a highly-anticipated sale of stake in Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco. “‘The primary driver is investor demand. We continue to see high levels of flows into global emerging market funds, with investors drawn to the strong growth prospects for the region,’” says HSBC Holdings’ Matthew Wallace.