When Dana Gas, the Gulf?s first private sector energy company, announced the allocation of shares to retail investors in its $561m initial public offering in October, the pan-Arab television network al-Arabiya flashed it on the screen as breaking news.

The report ? revealing that each investor from the region would get no more than 1,750 shares (at only DH1 each) ? came as a huge disappointment to investors, particularly the thousands of Saudis who had crossed into Dubai to lodge share applications and had to spend the night in parks because hotels were overbooked.