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Dubai could see a string of IPOs roll out this year, with Dubai Investments Park, the real estate arm of Dubai Investments, likely to take the lead after Eid Al Fitr, a source familiar with the matter told Zawya.
One of the UAE’s largest fully integrated mixed‑use developments, Dubai Investment Park (DIP) plans to sell a stake of up to 25% and is in discussions with leading investment banks and investors for a potential listing. The development could be valued at around 12 billion dirhams ($3.3 billion), according to the source.
A commercial unit of Dubai Holding could also come to market this year, the source said.
While there is little clarity on whether Etihad will launch its IPO this year, Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), a leading global aluminium producer and UAE’s largest non-oil industrial firm, will likely hit the market. The banks involved are in talks with investors.
It’s not clear whether EGA would have a Dubai or an Abu Dhabi listing, as the company is equal-parts owned by
Mubadala and the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), the source said.
Abu Dhabi-based Arabian Construction Company (ACC) is also eyeing a potential IPO this year.
Listings in the UAE slowed significantly in 2025 due to market volatility and geopolitical conflicts. Dubai Residential REIT which listed in DFM last year, raised $584 million, demonstrating a robust real estate market in the emirate.
Diversified engineering and construction firm Alec Holding marked the UAE’s largest ever IPO in the construction sector raising AED1.4 billion ( $381 million). In October, UAE-based online classifieds giant Dubizzle postponed its planned DFM IPO just one day before the book-building process for investors was set to begin.
Technology services company Alpha Data raised $163 million in Abu Dhabi’s only listing last year.
GCC exchanges recorded a total of 42 IPOs in 2025, the lowest level in four years. In terms of proceeds, GCC issuers raised $5.8 billion through IPOs in 2025, the lowest amount in five years and a 54.8% decline from the $12.9 billion raised in 2024.
Around 73 IPOs are in the pipeline across the GCC, according to Kuwait-based KAMCO Investment.
“There’s definitely going to be a bigger number of deals in the GCC in H1 2026 compared to the last quarter of 2025,” a leading investment banker said.
(Reporting by Seban Scaria; editing by Daniel Luiz)
