Over 300 global institutional investors met with all seven bourses from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and over 100 GCC corporates at HSBC’s GCC Exchanges Conference in London this week. The event comes as global economic uncertainty reshapes capital flows, with investors turning to the Gulf's reform-driven growth and maturing capital markets.

Now in its fourth year, conversations at the Conference focused on the increasing appeal of the GCC, as the region continues to register record IPO pipelines, deepen sovereign and corporate bond markets, and expand private credit platforms – all underpinned by strong fiscal buffers and multi-year economic transformation agendas. The continued liberalisation of GCC financial markets and the introduction of privatization programmes by GCC governments are converging at a time when investors are seeking diversification from global volatility.

GCC capital markets remained resilient in the first quarter of the year with IPO proceeds 33% higher compared to the first quarter of 2024, despite a slowdown in issuances globally.[1]. 

Joseph Ghorayeb, CEO of HSBC Bahrain, said: “Global investors are recalibrating for resilience and the GCC’s balance sheet strength and sophisticated financial markets ecosystem make it a capital magnet. We play a key role in the Bahrain Bourse’s vision to provide a unique suite of innovative and diversified services through its capital markets platforms to serve stakeholders. Most recently we acted as Joint Global Coordinator, Joint Lead Manager and Bookrunner on the USD2.5bn dual-tranche bond. We are also supporting the Bahrain Bourse in its quest to drive the ESG mandate for sustainable growth.”

Guest speakers at the GCC Exchanges Conference included H.E. Khalid Humaidan, Governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain; Mr. Yusuf AlYusuf, Chairman of Bahrain Bourse; Shaikh Khalifa bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa, Chief Executive Officer of Bahrain Bourse; as well as representatives from the Central Bank of Bahrain, the Ministry of Finance and National Economy (MOFNE), Bahrain Bourse.

Shaikh Khalifa bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa, CEO of Bahrain Bourse, commented on the participation saying: “Bahrain Bourse’s presence at the HSBC GCC Exchanges London Conference 2025 is part of our ongoing commitment to position Bahrain as a gateway for regional and international investment. Our engagement with global asset managers underscores our focus on enhancing investor access, market transparency, and supporting the development of a more dynamic capital market ecosystem in Bahrain.”

This year, for the first time, HSBC brought together Emerging Market Macro Strategists with GCC attendees, as EM investors dial-up their exposure to the Gulf’s capital markets driven by strong GDP projections relative to the broader EM pool.

Media enquiries to:
Greta Madgwick
greta.madgwick@hsbc.com
Mai Salem
maisalem@hsbc.com

HSBC in the MENAT region

HSBC is the largest and most widely represented international banking organisation in the Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye (MENAT), with a presence in nine countries across the region: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates. In Saudi Arabia, HSBC is a 31% shareholder of Saudi Awwal Bank (SAB), and a 51% shareholder of HSBC Saudi Arabia for investment banking in the Kingdom. Across MENAT, HSBC had assets of US$73bn as at 31 December 2024.

www.hsbc.ae

[1] PwC, IPO Watch, 20 May 2025