Saudi IPO Market Sees High Retail Demand in 2024

Saudi Arabia is seeing a big increase in initial public offerings (IPOs), with the final ones of 2024 getting a lot of attention from market investors. The Saudi Stock Exchange, also known as Tadawul, has seen strong demand for its last two IPOs of the year, which raised a total of SAR 2.31 billion ($610 million) through market subscriptions.

Alamosa Health, a healthcare company, saw a lot of interest from retail investors. Its SAR 1.69 billion IPO attracted SAR 1.4 billion in market subscriptions. This amount means that the market offer, which was 20% of the total, was oversubscribed by almost 4.1 times, with 395,986 investors participating. The IPO ran from December 23–24, and its shares were priced at the higher end of the range, between SAR 123 and 127. The company also received SAR 173 billion in accepted demand, mainly from local investors, showing strong confidence in the offering from domestic investors.

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Looking ahead to 2025, the IPO market in Saudi Arabia is expected to remain busy. The Capital Market Authority (CMA) has already approved several companies for listing, including United Cartons Industries, Arabian Company for Agriculture and Industrial Investment, and Umm Al Quran for Development and Construction Company. Umm Al Quran, which is supported by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), received approval on December 23 to list 9.1% of its shares, which totals 130.8 million shares. The company is involved in a major project in Mecca called the Maser Destination project, which aims to help the city host up to 30 million pilgrims annually by 2030.

At the same time, another IPO from Nice One Beauty, an online cosmetics market, also saw great interest. The company’s SAR 1.21 billion IPO had a market offering that was oversubscribed 7.5 times. The retail subscriptions amounted to SAR 908 million, with 418,116 investors taking part. Shares for Nice One Beauty were priced at SAR 35, giving the company a valuation of over SAR 4 billion. This IPO made Nice One Beauty the first tech unicorn to list on Tadawul. The retail offer for this IPO was open from December 24–25.

These IPOs highlight Saudi Arabia’s growing reputation as a place where investors are eager to put their money. Industry experts say the strong interest from both local institutions and retail investors shows the country's growing appeal as a hub for investments.

The CMA has given these companies a six-month window to list, so these IPOs must happen in the first half of 2025. Also, Flyness, Saudi Arabia’s budget airline, is expected to launch an IPO early in 2025, if it gets approval from the CMA.