Business · Markets · 4 hrs ago
Saudi IPO applications rise as new listings pause for 170 days
Saudi Arabia’s main stock market had 17 listing applications by the end of the second quarter, 70% more than in the first quarter.
Yet no IPOs have taken place for 170 days, the longest pause in eight years.
The last main-market listing was Dar Albalad on April 26, and the TASI index has since fallen 7.5% to 10,284 points, according to Monday’s close.
Most recently listed shares trade below their offer prices, while investor demand has weakened and some offerings have struggled to attract buyers.
Just two companies listed in the first nine months of 2026, compared with nine in the same period of 2025; proceeds fell to 446 million riyals from 12.4 billion.
The Capital Market Authority issued no new IPO approvals in the second quarter and had issued none through October 12.
Proposed rule changes aim to make IPO orders more reliable by linking them to investors’ ability to pay and improving disclosure and pricing.
Applications for listings on Saudi Arabia’s main stock market, Tadawul, rose to 17 by the end of the second quarter of 2026, up from 10 in the first quarter.
No new initial public offerings have taken place on the market for 170 days, the longest pause in eight years.
The Capital Market Authority had issued no approvals for new offerings during the second quarter, and none had been issued by October 12.
Most recently listed shares are trading below their offer prices, while investor appetite has weakened.
The market authority has proposed changes to improve the reliability of demand indications and the quality of disclosure and pricing.
- Who
- Companies seeking to list on Saudi Arabia’s main stock market, and the Capital Market Authority.
- What
- Listing applications rose to 17, while IPOs paused for 170 days.
- When
- The figures are for the second quarter of 2026; the approval pause continued through October 12.
- Where
- Saudi Arabia’s main stock market, Tadawul.
- Why
- The article links the pause to weaker investor appetite and pressure on newly listed shares; it does not state a single definitive cause.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Listing applications stood at 10.
Dar Al Balad was the most recent company to list on the main market.
Listing applications reached 17, and the Capital Market Authority issued no approvals for new offerings.
Three IPOs had been formally cancelled.
No new offering approvals had been issued by this date.
- Applications
- 17 at the end of the second quarter, up from 10 in the first quarter
- IPO pause
- 170 days, the longest in eight years
- Last main-market listing
- Dar Al Balad, April 26, 2026
- Tadawul index
- 10,284 points at Monday’s close, down 7.5% since the last listing
- IPOs in 2026
- Two in the first nine months, compared with nine in the same period of 2025
- Proceeds
- 446 million riyals in the first nine months of 2026, down from 12.4 billion riyals in the same period of 2025
What people are saying
The number of applications reached 17 by the end of the second quarter of this year, a 70% increase quarter on quarter.
Sources
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