In the first nine months of 2024, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region generated approximately $1 billion in investment banking fees, marking a 27% increase from the previous year. HSBC emerged as the leading earner in this sector, amassing $80.4 million in fees, which equates to a 7.8% share of the total fee pool, according to LSEG Deals Intelligence.
Following HSBC, Standard Chartered and First Abu Dhabi Bank ranked second and third, earning $56.5 million and $56 million, respectively.
Saudi Arabia led the way in investment banking fees, generating $470.7 million, followed by the UAE with $395.9 million. Other contributors included Qatar ($45 million), Kuwait ($41.7 million), and Egypt ($25.1 million).
The MENA region’s investment banks collected $339.9 million in fees from governments and agencies, with the financial sector contributing $280.2 million and the energy and power sector adding $245.6 million.
Notably, equity capital markets underwriting fees surged by 56% year-on-year, reaching $260.5 million, while debt capital markets underwriting fees saw a significant 74% increase to $337.6 million. EFG Hermes led the MENA equity capital markets (ECM) underwriting league table with a 9% market share during the first nine months of 2024.
In bond issuance, Standard Chartered topped the MENA bond bookrunner rankings with proceeds of $10.2 billion, capturing a 10% market share.
Advisory fees from completed mergers and acquisitions (M&A) totaled $165.5 million, reflecting a 20% decline from last year’s levels and marking the lowest first-nine-month total since 2018. The total value of announced M&A transactions involving the MENA region reached $55.9 billion during this period, down 4% from the previous year and also the lowest since 2018. However, the number of deals announced increased by 1% compared to last year.
The largest M&A deal in the MENA region during the first nine months of 2024 was ADNOC’s $14.8 billion takeover offer for German chemicals company Covestro. The most significant announcement in the third quarter was UAE-based clean energy firm Masdar’s $1.4 billion bid to acquire Spanish green energy company Saeta Yield from Brookfield Renewable.
Morgan Stanley ranked first in the M&A financial advisor league table for the region, advising on deals totaling $25.6 billion.
Additionally, syndicated lending fees in investment banking rose 12% to reach a two-year high of $273 million. Saudi Arabia accounted for 45% of all MENA investment banking fees, while the UAE contributed 38%.
