Trimary markets in December ended 2007 on a much higher note than many had foreseen for the year when giving their expectations 12 months ago, depicting 2007 as recovery year for regional financial markets with little to get excited about. And specifically, after an erratic performance in 2006, the market for initial public offerings in 2007 was described as a bottle of champagne without the sparkle. Instead, the IPO market in 2007 has surprised analysts and inspired new trust that 2008 and the following years will bring larger and qualitatively strong IPOs. While not quite reaching the size of the two largest IPOs in 2007 – of banks VTG in Russia and Citic in China – the Arab countries’ largest IPO, by DP World, was not far behind as it fetched $4.96 billion compared with around $8 billion for VTG and almost $6 billion by Citic. 2007 also proved that
