Ethmar International Holding is set to go to public next week: Emirati holding company Ethmar International Holding is looking to raise up to AED 700 mn (USD 191 mn) via a capital increase ahead of an IPO on the Abu Dhabi stock exchange on 1 May, according to an investor presentation seen by Bloomberg. The company will offer investors a 13-15% stake in a transaction that is expected to value it at more than AED 4 bn, the news outlet reports.

FYI:Chaired by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ethmar has more than 25 subsidiaries in a range of sectors including energy, real estate, tech, and healthcare. The firm is planning a number of acquisitions in the financial services, tourism, engineering, and pharma sectors, according to Bloomberg.

The Abu Dhabi IPO boom: A senior official told Bloomberg in March that another eight companies will go public in the emirate in 2023. So far this year, Adnoc Gas and data analytics firm Presight AI have joined the Abu Dhabi stock exchange.

GCC economies to grow at a much slower rate in 2023: Lower oil prices are expected to weigh on GCC economies this year, according to a Reuters poll of analysts, which forecasts economic growth to fall significantly from 2022.

A snapshot:

  • Saudi Arabia’s GDP growth will more than halve to 3.2% this year from 2022 when its economy grew at its fastest clip in a decade due to the oil price shock.
  • The UAE will see growth slip to 3.7% in 2023 from 7.6% last year.
  • Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman will all record weaker growth.

What they said:“Oil output cuts will drive a sharp slowdown in GDP growth in Saudi Arabia this year...In the rest of the Gulf, the double whammy of lower oil production and oil prices will impact upon both oil and non-oil GDP,” said James Swanston, EM economist at Capital Economics.

EGX30

17,452

-0.4% (YTD: +19.6%)

USD (CBE)

Buy 30.83

Sell 30.96

USD at CIB

Buy 30.85

Sell 30.95

Interest rates CBE

18.25% deposit

19.25% lending

Tadawul

11,307

+0.4% (YTD: +7.9%)

ADX

9,676

+0.3% (YTD: -5.2%)

DFM

3,490

-0.5% (YTD: +4.6%)

S&P 500

4,056

-0.4% (YTD: +5.6%)

FTSE 100

7,853

-0.5% (YTD: +5.4%)

Euro Stoxx 50

4,348

-0.7% (YTD: +14.6%)

Brent crude

USD 77.69

-3.8%

Natural gas (Nymex)

USD 2.12

-8.2%

Gold

USD 1,999.60

+0.2%

BTC

USD 28,448

+0.8% (YTD: +71.0%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 fell 0.4% at yesterday’s closeon turnover of EGP 1.8 bn (about 4% above the trailing 90-day average). Local investors were net buyers. The index is up 19.6% YTD.

In the green: Ibnsina Pharma (+4.3%), Mopco (+3.4%) and Abu Qir Fertilizers (+3.2%).

In the red: E-finance (-2.9%), CIRA Education (-2.8%) and Cleopatra Hospitals (-2.6%).

Asian markets are mixed in early trading this morning. Futures suggest European indices will largely open in the red, in contrast to Wall Street, which looks set to start in the green.

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