Arqaam Capital strengthens IB drive as deals surge in Saudi, UAE
Initially set up as a sales and trading brokerage, Arqaam Capital is now accelerating its ECM, DCM, and loan syndication efforts as deal flow rises in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. But the expansion isn't without challenges, including tight fees and stiff competition.
Headquartered in Dubai's DIFC and with offices in UAE, Saudi, Egypt and Lebanon, the financial services firm secured licenses in Saudi that would enable them to advice on ECM mandates.
Rawad Kassouf, Head of ECM Execution & Syndicate at Arqaam told Zawya that the firm is expanding the Saudi team and currently busy leveraging its team of 27 research analysts to maximise research capabilities as well as regional and international distribution for issuers.
Arqaam was a joint book runner for Dubai Holding REIT. 'We're getting deals from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Oman, and we expect to advise on more ECM transactions by year end,' said Kassouf, who was a senior investment banker at ADCB before joining Arqaam to expand its ECM division in August last year.
While Saudi Arabia and the UAE are at the center of capital markets activity, Kassouf said Oman's potential upgrade from frontier to emerging market status—possibly next year—could lead to increased FDI inflows and re-ratings that may boost valuations re-ratings.
Saudi Arabia is set to maintain its leadership in ECM this year, driven primarily by industrial listings, with real estate following closely.
'The large families in the kingdom who have huge real estate arms are all considering to list. There is a scarcity of these kind of companies on Tadawul.
When it comes to aftermarket performance of recent issuances bankers need to strike a healthy balance between issuer and investor expectations. We should be able to manage it in upcoming IPOs,' Kassouf said. 'We are going to see a busy Q3, Q4 in KSA and UAE. Most initiatives will be driven by government related entities, but we are seeing more and more privately owned companies considering listing.'
DCM business roadmap
Omar Musharraf, Managing Director of Debt solutions and DCM at Arqaam Capital joined the firm barely two months back. Previously, he was head of structured finance and DCM at Oman Investment Bank.
'At Arqaam, I've been mandated to establish and scale the debt platform, anchoring the flow business through DCM and Loan Syndications on one side, and higher-margin segments of Structured Finance and Private Credit on the other,' Musharraf said.
The size of the GCC DCM passed $1 trillion outstanding (all currencies) at end-1Q25, up 10% year on year (yoy). Total DCM issuance in Q1 2025 grew by 11% over the quarter to $89 billion but was down 3% yoy. Saudi Arabia has the largest share of DCM outstanding (45.1%), followed by the UAE (29.9%) and Qatar (13%).
The regional debt capital markets remained active even as global markets stumbled amid concerns over Trump's tariff announcements.
'Issuances have become noticeably more sophisticated. Issuers are now exploring various options and tightening pricing as well. All attention is focused on the Middle East,' he noted. 'Competition is intense, fees are compressed, and value creation now hinges on structuring complexity and execution.'
Musharraf is currently focused on building up a team and will add fixed income analysts to the research team. 'By year-end, we should have a comprehensive debt solutions strategy in place. A key part of that is expanding our research coverage – currently equity-focused – to include fixed income analysts,' he added.
In the meantime, Arqaam is doing everything possible for more visibility.
'We supported the Sobha transaction and are currently working on several additional deals, across corporates, financial institutions, and international sovereigns, while also evaluating a pipeline of private credit opportunities. It's a busy time,' Musharraf said.
While the DCM business will start at a modest scale or benchmark size, it is targeting high-quality credit, either government-linked or private sector issuers that naturally align with the country's priorities, such as oil and gas.
It is also training its sights on tapping into the broader sukuk market and AT1 issuances in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
'Sukuk markets remain strong on both the demand and supply side. The traditional barriers such as complexity, cost, and timing have narrowed materially, making sukuk a far more competitive option. That said, AAOIFI's new Standard 62 could introduce fresh complications. We're watching that closely,' he said.
There is approximately $35 billion in debt refinancing expected across the GCC region during 2025–2026. This refinancing is driven by maturing sovereign and corporate debt, as well as ongoing economic diversification efforts and infrastructure financing.
'Debt refinancing alone will keep us active, with a significant volume of sovereign, corporate and FI maturities on the horizon. Add to those new issuances from both regional and emerging global players, and there's a considerable amount of market activity ahead and no shortage of market action,' he added.
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