(Bloomberg) --

Kefi Gold & Copper Plc, the gold explorer with projects in Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia, has hired advisers for a potential dual-listing in Riyadh as companies tap into an IPO boom in the Gulf region.

The proposed listing of Kefi Gold in Saudi Arabia follows agricultural commodity trader Olam Group exploring a similar plan, potentially becoming the first companies from outside the Middle East to trae on the kingdom’s exchange. The London-traded firm said it examined a potential dual-listing in either Canada or Australia but is now prioritizing Saudi Arabia. It didn’t provide the names of advisers.

“We believe now is the ideal time to plan a dual-listing at the appropriate time and expect a positive reception for what would be the first pre-production miner,” Chairman Harry Anagnostaras-Adams said in a statement.

• Read more: Booming Saudi Market Set to Lure First Global Listing: ECM Watch

With almost $23 billion raised through initial public offerings in the Gulf last year — about half of the total fetched throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa — the region emerged as a bright spot in what was otherwise a grim market for share sales, as high inflation and rising interest rates resulted in the worst year for stocks since the global financial crisis.

Olam Group, one of Asia’s biggest agricultural commodity traders, said last month that it will pursue a listing for its agribusiness unit in Singapore and a potential concurrent one in Riyadh this year.

Kefi Gold already has operations in the kingdom and expects two gold and copper projects to begin production in 2025.

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