Stock markets in the energy-rich Gulf saw a sharp drop in the number of initial public offerings in 2016, as well as the value of listings, a report said Wednesday. Only three IPOs were made in the region last year, half the number recorded in 2015 and the lowest in 15 years, Kuwaiti investment firm KAMCO Research said in the report.

Their value was a meagre $745 million, the lowest since 2013 and way below the record $10.9 billion raised by stock flotations in 2008 and 2014 separately, KAMCO said. All three of last year's IPOs were from Saudi Arabia.

There were none in the remaining members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and United Arab Emirates. KAMCO said Gulf companies looking to issue IPOs decided to put them off due to events including Brexit, the US presidential election and volatility on oil markets up until Opec agreed to cut production.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2017