The Abu Dhabi stock exchange has three more IPOs in the pipeline this year and another 11 lined up for 2023, an official said in an interview with Bloomberg. An AED 5 bn (USD 1.36 bn) pre-IPO fund launched in October has helped bolster the ADX’s listing pipeline, Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development Chairman Mohamed Ali Al Shorafa told the news outlet, as Gulf exchanges continue to buck a global slowdown in fresh listings amid tighter economic conditions.

GCC listings have raised some USD 18 bn this year, nearly half the money raised in the capital markets of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, according to Bloomberg data. In another sign of the region’s healthy dealmaking pipeline, Goldman Sachs is expanding its headcount in the region in a bid to capitalize on the boom, according to Bloomberg.

More from the Gulf IPO rush:

#1- The Saudis want to take ADES public next year: Saudi wealth fund PIF is looking to hire advisors to help list regional oil and gas services company Ades as soon as 1H 2023, in an IPO that could value the company as high as USD 5 bn and raise more than USD 1 bn. The PIF helped take ADES private last year in a transaction that valued it at USD 516 mn. (Bloomberg)

Why should Egypt care? ADES is Egypt’s largest offshore driller and started life here in Egypt before going public in London in 2017.

#2- Americana IPO sees huge investor demand: Americana Group’s USD 1.8 bn IPO was oversubscribed within hours of opening yesterday. The MENA KFC and Pizza Hut operator is offering 2.5 bn shares (a 30% stake) at SAR 2.55-2.68 a piece in the dual Abu Dhabi and RIyadh listing, valuing the company at as much as USD 6 bn. (Bloomberg)

MEANWHILE- The crypto industry is continuing to reel from FTX’s collapse: The world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, is preparing to set up a fund to bail out businesses in the sector that are facing a liquidity crunch in the wake of FTX’s collapse last week, Reuters reports. This will be good news to the world’s largest crypto fund, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, which according to Bloomberg is slipping deeper into crisis and is now trading at an “unprecedented” 42% discount to its BTC holdings. Meanwhile, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried ⁠— already facing an investigation in the Bahamas ⁠— could become the target of a criminal probe in the US, lawyers tell the Wall Street Journal.

	EGX30	12,136	+1.3% (YTD: +1.6%)
	USD (CBE)	Buy 24.39	Sell 24.48
	USD at CIB	Buy 24.41	Sell 24.46
	Interest rates CBE	13.25% deposit	14.25% lending
	Tadawul	11,197	-0.4% (YTD: -0.8%)
	ADX	10,620	-0.1% (YTD: +25.1%)
	DFM	3,394	-0.4% (YTD: +6.2%)
	S&P 500	3,957	-0.9% (YTD: -17.0%)
	FTSE 100	7,385	+0.9% (YTD: 0.0%)
	Euro Stoxx 50	3,887	+0.5% (YTD: -9.6%)
	Brent crude	USD 92.53	-3.6%
	Natural gas (Nymex)	USD 6.04	+2.7%
	Gold	USD 1,774.70	+0.3%
	BTC	USD 16,413	+0.4% (YTD: -64.8%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 rose 1.3% at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 3.05 bn (63.3% above the 90-day average). Local investors were net buyers. The index is up 1.6% YTD.

In the green: Fawry (+6.6%), Eastern Company (+3.6%) and Palm Hills Development (+3.6%).

In the red: Oriental Weavers (-5.3%), CIRA (-3.4%) and GB Auto (-2.7%).