A flurry of merger and acquisition (M&A) and initial public offering (IPO) announcements have helped the local markets advance this week.

The Nasdaq Dubai closed 1.78 per cent higher at 1698.39 on 28 March, buoyed by the 3.66 per cent gain of Damas International after Qatari conglomerate Mannai Corporation announced its intention to take over the company for $445m with Egyptian investment bank EFG Hermes.

Qatar Exchange-listed (QE) Mannai Corporation advanced 0.33 per cent on 28 March. The QE main index gained every day this week, closing 0.2 per cent higher on 28 March at 8,790.22. The QE was the region’s only market that closed in the red at the end of last year. The main benchmark is already up 0.13 per cent since the beginning of the year and the entire exchange has gained 0.2 per cent in the first quarter of this year.

EFG Hermes, which is listed on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX), gained 5 per cent on 26 March to £E13.43 after it announced its intention to merge with Qinvest, a Qatar-based Islamic investment bank, to create an investment bank for the region. The EGX has been the best-performing bourse in the world this quarter, rising 39.14 per cent since the beginning of the year and closing at 5,040.05 on 28 March. Investors have quickly returned to the market after crippling losses caused by the revolution and political uncertainty seen in 2011. There are concerns, however, that volatility will return to the market.

The Bahrain Bourse opened the week on Sunday 25 March at 1,155.61, 0.64 per cent higher than the previous session’s trading. Bahrain Telecom (Batelco) gained 5.29 per cent to close at BD0.438, the highest since July last year. The main benchmark failed to maintain the three-day advance momentum and slid back 0.13 per cent on 26 March to 1,154.16.

Telecoms firms on the Tadawul also helped drag up the Tadawul All Shares Index (Tasi) on 25 March, which closed 1.08 per cent higher at 7,758.66 points. Atheeb Telecom climbed 9.93 per cent to reach SR14.96 and Zain KSA was the most liquid share at SR11.10, rising 0.91 per cent. The Tadawul is up 21.27 per cent in the first quarter of the year closing 7,782.84 points on 28 March.

Sentiment has improved in the Muscat Securities Market (MSM) after a handful of companies announced their intentions to go public. The sentiment is reflected elsewhere as more companies have expressed their desire to offer their shares to the public. The latest is UAE private equity firm Abraaj Capital, which announced it is preparing for an IPO for early 2013 after acquiring global private equity firm Aureos Capital in February this year.

Out of all the regional markets, only Jordan and Morocco failed to gain in the first quarter.