JEDDAH — Middle Eastern & North African investment banking fees totaled an estimated $684 million during the first nine months of 2018, 8% less than the value of fees recorded during the same period in 2017,Refinitiv, formally the Financial & Risk business division of Thomson Reuters, said Monday in its 2018 Q3 investment banking analysis for the Middle East.

According to the report, debt capital markets underwriting fees totalled $180.5 million, down 13% year-on-year but still the second highest fee volume for the region since our records began in 2000. Equity capital markets fees increased 45% to $74.8 million, a 3-year high. Fees generated from completed M&A transactions totalled $101.6 million, a 44% decrease from last year and the lowest first nine months since 2005. Syndicated loan fees reached $327 million, up 8% from Q3 2017.

Debt capital markets fees accounted for 26% of the overall Middle Eastern & North African investment banking fee pool, the second highest market share since 2001. Syndicated lending fees accounted for 48% while the share of completed M&A advisory fees fell to its lowest level on record, only accounting for 15% of the market. Equity capital markets underwriting fees accounted for 11%.

Citi earned the most investment banking fees in the Middle East & North Africa during the first nine months of 2018, a total of $57 million for a 8.3% share of the total fee pool; also leading in the M&A advisory league table. JP Morgan topped both the completed ECM and Syndicated Loans fee rankings with 13.9% and 7.7% of fees, respectively. DCM underwriting was led by Standard Chartered with $28.3 million in ECM fees, or a 15.7% share.

As to mergers and acquisitions (M&A), the value of announced transactions with any Middle Eastern & North African involvement reached $45.1 billion during the first nine months of 2018, 65% more than the value recorded during the same period in 2017 and an 8-year high. Deals with a Middle Eastern and North African target reached an all-time high rising to $27.1 billion, up 89% from the same period in 2017 while inter-MENA or domestic deals also up 106% from YTD last year.

Driven by Saudi British Bank acquisition of the entire share of capital of Alawwal Bank for $5 billion, MENA inbound M&A currently stands at an all-time high raising to $13.1billion while outbound M&A increased from $8.5 billion in the first nine months of 2017 to $12 billion so far this year.

Energy & Power deals accounted for 28.9% of Middle Eastern and North African involvement M&A by value, followed by the financial sector with a 24.5% market share but counting with 91 transactions, 32 more than the 59 recorded in the Energy & Power industry. Goldman Sachs currently leads theQ3 2018 announced any Middle Eastern and North African involvement M&A league table. JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley follow in second and third place.

As to Equity Capital Markets, Middle Eastern and North African equity and equity-related issuance totaled $7 billion during the first nine months of 2018, a 101% increase year-on-year. With only $884 million, IPOs represent 12.6% of the region’s ECM issuance, down from 36.7% at this time last year. Orange Egypt follow-on raised $866 million and stands out as the biggest deal so far during 2018. EFG Hermes leads the Middle Eastern and North African ECM ranking with a 17.7% market share, followed by JP Morgan and UBS in second and third place, respectively.

While Debt Capital Markets showed a 12% decreased compared to Q3 2017, debt issuance in the Middle Eastern and North African region is at its second highest level since our records began, reaching $73.1 billion so far this year. Saudi Arabia was the most active nation in the region accounting for 26% of activity by value, followed by the UAE with 24.7%. International Islamic debt issuance decreased 24% from Q3 2017 to reach $31.4 billion so far during 2018.

Standard Chartered currently leads in the Middle Eastern and North African bond ranking for Q3 2018 with a 14.2% share of the market, while CIMB Group Holdings took the top spot for Islamic DCM issuance with a 10.7% share. — SG