The number of initial public offerings (IPO) in the Middle East & North Africa (Mena) region was down 51.67 per cent to $374.77m in the second quarter of this year when compared to the same period in 2010.

According to Ernst & Young’s Mena IPO Update, a total of $398.91m has been raised in the regional capital markets in the first six months of the year, a decline of 66.84 per cent since 2010’s $1.2bn.

There were four single listings in the second quarter,  Saudi Integrated Telecom Company which raised $93.33m on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul); Northern Cement Company raised $7.05m on the Amman Stock Exchange; TelNet Holding raised $8.7m in Tunisia; and Societe de Travaux de Realisation d’Ouvrages et de Construction Industrielle raised $13.02m in Morocco.

The UAE had two listings on the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange. These were Eshraq Properties Company, which raised $229.09m and National Takaful Company (Watania) raised $23.58m. Eshraq Properties is the first real-estate company to list in the UAE since the May 2007 listing of Deyaar Development on the Dubai Financial Market.

The Middle East has seen 225 companies delay their offers or postpone going to market over the past three years.