One can hardly describe the recent pick up in initial public offerings in the Middle East and North Africa region as a recovery. As of July 22, the number of IPOs in 2009 stood at 11, down 75 percent year-on-year, while the total value of offerings fell to $1.9 billion, a fraction of the $12.5 billion raised over the same period in 2008. Indeed, the MENA IPO market has become more talk and less do, pending clearer signs of a banking and real estate sector recovery, in addition to a turnaround in general economic activity, expected to take hold in early 2010. The average size of offerings has also dropped by 39 percent to $172 million, reflecting the cautiousness of companies in their efforts to raise capital. Even average oversubscription multiples have fallen off a cliff from 17.17 times in 2008 through July 22, to only 3.61 times over the
