Another year where IPOs were few and far in between: We rang in 2024 with the expectations that three companies would IPO throughout the year — the EGX witnessed only two IPOs in 2024.

2024’s first IPO: Act Financial began trading on the EGX in late July and saw its shares jump 29.7% on the first day of trading. The firm offered some 32% of the company — 360 mn shares — to investors. The retail tranche of the IPO was 54.8x covered, while the institutional tranche was 20.2x oversubscribed, the highest demand a subscription period has seen in six years. All in all, the combined offering was 26x oversubscribed.

And the first IPO of a bank on the EGX in 28 years: The state successfully sold a 30% stake in the CBE-owned United Bank, which hit the EGX earlier this month following a heavily oversubscribed IPO. United Bank’s retail offering was oversubscribed 59x, while the offering’s private placement was covered 6x. The offering as a whole was more than 8.6x oversubscribed.

2023 was a dry year for the IPO market: Last year saw only a single company make its EGX debut, Taqa Arabia started trading on the EGX in July 2023 — in a technical listing, not an IPO — listing 1.35 bn shares on the exchange. No company has made its EGX debut since.

Other activity on the EGX: Lotus for Agricultural Investments and Development made themove from the EGX’s small and medium enterprises market to the main market after spending a little over a year trading on the NileX.

There’s a lot of liquidity in the market as a hedge against devaluation and inflation, Amr Helal, CEO of sell-side investment bank at CI Capital, said during the EnterpriseAM Finance Forum in September. “I think more needs to be done to encourage those investors, especially as interest rates come down and the easy money from parking funds in treasuries or government securities fades, to increase their allocation to the stock market,” he added.

Regional performance: Egypt came in second as the best MENA market for expected USD performance in 2024, in EFG Hermes Research’s annual One-on-One Live Poll receiving 25% of the votes counted. Leading the pack was Saudi Arabia with 44%, while Dubai came in third with 12% and Abu Dhabi in fourth with 8%.

The hot sectors for the year: Respondents were evenly split on which sectors will perform best in the MENA region this year, with 27% voting for real estate and an equal amount voting for healthcare. In third place was banks with 24% of the vote.

The year saw plenty of companies announce their intent to IPO on the EGX: In January, Raya Holding announced its plans to offer stakes in Raya Trade & Distribution, Raya IT, and Aman Financial Services “when the market is ready to accommodate new offerings.” The National Printing Company (NAPR) will reportedly make its EGX debut in 2H 2025. The company had initially planned to go public in the fourth quarter of this year but decided to delay the offering to await clearer market conditions. The EGX approved the temporary listing of the company in February.

What could be the largest-ever public share sale in Egypt got pushed back again: The Administrative Capital for Urban Development (ACUD) will be ready to make its EGX debut in 2025, chairman Khaled Abbas told local media in May.

Also in the pipeline for next year: Banque du Caire is reportedly planning to list in 2H 2025.

Some companies departed the EGX: This year witnessed the voluntary delisting of IntegratedDiagnostics Holdings (IDH) due to “limited trading activity.” Ezz Steel is also working to delist its shares from the EGX.

New listing, delisting rules: In September, the Financial Regulatory Authority introduced new regulations for firms looking to delist from the Egyptian stock exchange, as well as new regulations for special purpose acquisition companies.

More diverse indices: In June, the EGX launched its first Sharia-complaint index. The index’s 33 listed companies represent 16 different sectors and have a maximum weight of 15% for any of them.

Egypt welcomed its first SPAC: Impact investor Catalyst Partners’ SPAC, Catalyst Partners Middle East became Egypt’s first SPAC, listing 1 mn shares with a nominal value of EGP 10 per share during its EGX debut. The SPAC is looking to acquire six to ten companies — including two fintech and NBFS firms.

Egypt launched Africa’s first carbon market in August. The market allows companies to issue and trade voluntary carbon certificates in Egypt and Africa, which can be bought by other companies wanting to offset their emissions.

WHAT DOES 2025 HAVE IN STORE-

Aiming for IPOs record: 2025 is shaping up to be a busy year for IPOs on the EGX.

Primarily driven by government support: The Suez Canal Authority plans to list a stake in its subsidiary, Canal Company for Mooring and Lights. The government also intends to offer stakes of up to 25% in Port Said Container & Cargo Handling and Damietta Container & Cargo Handling during 1H 2025. Additionally, 10 companies are slated for privatization via direct sales to strategic investors and/or through EGX listing.

Private sector players lining up for the market: Several private companies announced plans to go public on the EGX in 2025, including Valu, El Attal Holding, Al Ahly Group for Modern Agriculture, Go Green for Agricultural Investment and Korra Energi, which intends to list 20% of its shares. Other notable companies include Smart Village and Al Ahly Sabbour, which has been eyeing an IPO since 2017. Other private sector players looking to make their EGX debuts next year include Tabarak Holding, Enara Group, and Basata Holding for Financial Investments.

IPO plans beyond 2025: The outlook for IPOs looks even brighter for the years beyond 2025, with several companies across different sectors gearing up for public offerings. These include GoBus, which plans to list 30% of its shares by 2026, and MO Group for Food Industries, which announced in December plans to offer up to 35% of its shares within three years. Other companies eyeing IPOs in the coming years include SIAC Holding, Adeer International (a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Sumo Holding), real estate player Arabia Holding, Friday Ice Cream, Al Gioshy Steel, and Sun Way Egypt.

Derivatives will begin trading on the EGX in 2Q 2025, Financial Regulatory Authority Deputy Chairman Islam Azzam said. Azzam highlighted futures contracts for indices as being among the incoming additions.

One of the largest ever capital increases on the EGX: Beltone Holding will increase itscapital by EGP 10.75 bn in a bid to support its growth strategy to strengthen its market position, leveraging data science to expand its financial services and expand its product offerings.

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