Abstract
The Arab States of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) host one of the fastest developing, yet one of the most closed groups of securities markets in the EMEA region. This study provides an analysis of the regional securities market and compares it with global securities’ market trends for the period 2000 to 2014. The study refers to regional IPO activity as a reflection of the level of maturity of the local economy. An IPO Market Ratio is introduced in this study as an instrument for measuring the national economy so as to be able to further compare it to other economies. The study provides descriptions of the financial markets of all GCC economies, outlines their developmental history, and develops a ranking of GCC countries based upon weighted normalized IPO Market Ratio data. The collected information and the results of the analysis are presented both in table and graphical formats.