NEW YORK/DUBAI, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Moelis & Co has hired a banker from Saudi National Bank's investment banking arm to head its business in Saudi Arabia, a company spokesperson said in an email on Monday.

The U.S. boutique investment bank appointed Moaath Alangari to lead its business in the kingdom, the spokesperson said. Alangari was previously vice president at Saudi National Bank.

Bloomberg first reported the news on Alangari's appointment, adding that Moelis had secured a license to operate in the kingdom earlier this year, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

International banks have been courting Saudi Arabia ever since the kingdom outlined plans to float state oil giant Saudi Aramco, resulting in a landmark $29.4 billion share sale before the COVID-19 pandemic.

IPO activity in the Gulf is starting to pick up after the pace slowed from an exceptional 2022, when Saudi Arabia and the UAE led new listings, raising nearly $22 billion - more than half the total for the wider Europe, Middle East and Africa region, Dealogic data shows.

Middle Eastern companies raised $5.3 billion in the first half of this year through 23 market debuts.

In particular, Saudi Arabia has witnessed a string of IPOs amid a government-led privatisation programme that has also seen state entities shed some of their holdings in listed firms, encouraging local companies and family businesses to go public. (Reporting by Saeed Azhar in New York and Hadeel Al Sayegh in Dubai; Editing by Sandra Maler and Miral Fahmy)