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Emirates NBD Capital sees resilient GCC ECM, expands India, Türkiye deal pipeline

By Zawya

By Seban Scaria

In a year marked by delayed IPOs and cautious issuer sentiment amid geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, Emirates NBD Capital emerged as the region's leading ECM underwriter in the first nine months of 2026, executing some of the GCC's biggest capital markets transactions.

The bank remains optimistic about the GCC ECM outlook. Besides its key GCC markets, it is now looking to be increasingly active in Turkey and India.

“The outlook continues to be positive and we are expanding our team across geographies. Beyond the GCC transactions, we're are diversified with mandates from Turkey and from India. We have one more mandate from Africa,” Hitesh Asarpota, CEO of Emirates NBD Capital, told Zawya.

Despite slower issuance activity, Asarpota remains confident about GCC market liquidity, supported by strong institutional investor appetite and ample regional capital. “Though the number of issuers is lower this year, regional investor appetite remains strong, with substantial capital available from sovereign wealth funds and family offices,” he said.

Waiting for the right window

The bank ranked first in the MENA ECM underwriting league table during the first nine months of 2026, with a 21% market share, according to LSEG data.

MENA equity and equity-related issuance fell 79% year-on-year to $2.3 billion during the period, with the number of deals down 67%. IPO activity slowed to nine listings from 37 a year earlier, raising $1.2 billion, the lowest comparable total since 2020. Oman India Fertiliser Company’s $677.9 million IPO was the region’s largest.

“The conflict has affected risk appetite and it's also affected timing. We could have seen a few large IPOs this year but given the situation in the region we did not but potentially in the near future, we will. It's very important to wait for the right window before you proceed," Asarpota said.

"Most planned listings are strategic giving issuers the flexibility to wait for more favorable market conditions. Other funding options were available, yet none felt compelled to tap them.”

Emirates NBD Capital completed four GCC IPOs in 2025 and is currently leading the Dubai Investment Park IPO, the only IPO announced so far in the UAE this year.

While IPO activity slowed, other equity transactions helped sustain the bank's ECM business, including rights issues, block trades, follow-on offerings and strategic consolidations.

Its key mandates included Sharjah Islamic Bank's $705 million follow-on offering, the second-largest such transaction on the ADX in the past 20 years, Anan Holding's $47.6 million capital raise and Dar Al Balad's $54.56 million Saudi IPO.

In early October, the bank acted as bookrunner for the $770 million London IPO of Airtel Money, an Africa-focused mobile financial services business, which also attracted Middle Eastern investors.

“We have been busy in different markets and now DIP IPO has added to the pipeline.”

India, Turkey IB focus

Emirates NBD's merchant banking license in India, secured in the first quarter of 2026, and its $2.75 billion acquisition of a controlling stake in RBL Bank provide a strong platform for expanding its investment banking business in the country.

While Emirates NBD Capital entered India too late to compete for mandates on some of the country's largest IPOs, including NSE and Jio Platforms, it has secured two ECM mandates and executed nine debt capital markets (DCM) deals in 2026, with more in the immediate pipeline.

“We expect to have a full platform in place in India over the next few quarters. The IPO mandates have not yet been announced, and the issuers are expected to file soon. Our key role is to broaden their distribution among Middle East investors,” Asarpota said.

Emirates NBD Capital has expanded its investment banking activities in Türkiye, where its parent Emirates NBD Group has an established presence through its wholly owned banking subsidiary DenizBank.

Asarpota highlighted Türkiye as an important market particularly in DCM and global loan syndications (GLS).

The bank is a market leader for DCM deals for the last two years and has secured its first ECM mandate, which is still under execution.

“We have led a total of 85 deals across DCM and Global loan syndications in Türkiye for 2025-2026, with a combined volume of around $54 billion,” he said.

(Writing by Seban Scaria; editing by Daniel Luiz) seban.scaria@lseg.com

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