MENA IPO activity raised some USD 2.6 bn last quarter: IPO proceeds in the MENA region climbed 45.3% y-o-y to USD 2.64 bn in 2Q 2024 as IPO activity was buoyed by increased liquidity spurred by higher oil prices and positive market sentiment, according to an EY press release dissecting its MENA IPO Eye report. The proceeds were raised across 14 listings — up from the 13 listings regional bourses saw in the same period last year — in Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Kuwait.

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KSA captured some 60% of the pie: Eleven out of the 14 listings that took place in the region during the quarter were in Saudi Arabia. The listing raised a combined USD 1.6 bn — c. 60% of the region’s proceeds from IPO activity. The IPO of Fakeeh Care Group raised the lion’s share with USD 764 mn, followed by Saudi Manpower Solutions Company (SMASCO) at USD 240 mn and Rasan Information Technology Company at USD 224 mn. Five companies — including the top three contributors — listed on the Tadawul main market, while the other six IPOed on Nomu.

The UAE came in second: The UAE saw two IPOs over the last quarter — Alef EducationConsultancy and Spinneys raised a combined USD 890 mn from their IPOs after listing on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and the Dubai Financial Market, respectively.

Kuwait saw its first listing following a dry spell: Kuwait’s Beyout Investment Group raised USD 147 mn from taking a 30% stake to the Kuwait Stock Exchange in June, marking the country’s first IPO since 2019.

Where are they now? “Eight out of the 14 MENA IPOs listed in Q2 2024 had shown a positive return as of the 30 June share price in comparison with their IPO price, with [the Saudi] Miahona Company achieving the highest gain of 90.4% within the period,” the release said.

AT HOME- While Egypt saw no IPOs during the quarter, local bus service provider GoBus got the greenlight to IPO, according to the report. Earlier this year, CEO Fady Nassif announced the company’s plans to list 30% of its shares on the EGX within the next two years. We saw our first IPO of the year in July, when investment management firm Act Financial took a 32% stake to market.

OIL WATCH- Global oil demand to slow: The International Energy Agency maintained its oil demand growth forecast for this year but trimmed its 2025 forecast to 950k bpd — down 30k bpd from last month’s forecast — pointing to a slowdown in China.

MARKETS THIS MORNING-

Asian markets are mixed in early trading this morning, with the Nikkei and Kospi up and the Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite in the red. Futures for major US equities benchmarks were mostly unchanged overnight.

EGX30

29,331

-1.3% (YTD: +17.8%)

USD (CBE)

Buy 49.31

Sell 49.44

USD (CIB)

Buy 49.3

Sell 49.4

Interest rates (CBE)

27.25% deposit

28.25% lending

Tadawul

11,797

+0.5% (YTD: -1.4%)

ADX

9,175

-0.4% (YTD: -4.2%)

DFM

4,185

-0.4% (YTD: +3.1%)

S&P 500

5,434

+1.7% (YTD: +13.9%)

FTSE 100

8,235

+0.3% (YTD: +6.5%)

Euro Stoxx 50

4,695

+0.5% (YTD: +3.8%)

Brent crude

USD 80.69

-2.0%

Natural gas (Nymex)

USD 2.15

+0.3%

Gold

USD 2,506

-0.1%

BTC

USD 60,985

+3.4% (YTD: +44.4%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 fell 1.3% at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 4.0 bn (12.7% above the 90-day average). Local investors were the sole net buyers. The index is up 17.8% YTD.

In the green: EFG Holding (+1.5%), B Investments (+0.5%), and Cleopatra Hospitals (+0.4%).

In the red: Elsewedy Electric (-6.4%), Ezz Steel (-4.6%), and Eastern Company (-2.4%).

CORPORATE ACTIONS-

B Investments will pay out a dividend of USD 0.02 per share on its 2023 earnings, the company said in an EGX disclosure (pdf). Dividends will be paid out on 29 August.

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