With monster-sized bank offerings and strong growth in primary markets activity, the global landscape of initial public offerings made a strong showing in the first seven months of 2010. However, in Arab markets, the picture included pea-sized volumes, vastly overestimated listing numbers and IPOs that went into hiding. Keeping count of initial public offerings in the Middle East and North Africa during the first half of 2010 was a simple task, with the total raising of funds in the $1.2 billion range from 16 IPOs with completed subscription by June 30. The tally for standard entries into the sphere of public trading across the MENA is mouse-like next to the 800-pound gorilla in the 2010 global IPO market, China. Saudi Arabia was the stage for seven offerings across the MENA, followed by four in Tunisia (which included one with a double listing in Morocco), two in Syria, and one each
