The by-laws define the listing requirements for both equity and debt issuance and effectively open the market for a string of new offerings.

'The market now has the definitions it needs,' says an investment banker in Riyadh. 'And now that we have the regulations we can put an issue together. There is a queue of deals that is being managed by the CMA and while the first flurries are going to be equity deals - both privatisations and private sector IPOs [initial public offerings] - there are some interesting bond and sukuk deals in the pipeline.'

The first equity offering will be the SR 1,435 million ($383 million) sale of 70 per cent of the shares in National Company for Cooperative Insurance (NCCI), which is scheduled to be launched on 21 December. It is being managed by HSBCand its Saudi affiliate, Saudi British Bank (SABB - MEED 12:11:04). Next in line is the IPO of Al-Marai Company, which is expected in early 2005 and will also be handled by HSBC and SABB. The third deal is likely to be the SR 1,500 million ($400 million) sale of 50 per cent of Al-Bilad Bank, lead arranged by Gulf International Bank.

On the debt capital markets side, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic)is still working towards a SR 1,000 million ($267 million) bond issue in the new year for which HSBC and SABB are understood to have been mandated (MEED 8:10:04). Looking further ahead, there is growing speculation that Saudi Binladin Groupis close to mandating Deutsche Bankfor what promises to be a seminal sukuk issuance for the part financing of its Mecca real estate development programme.