THIS EVENING: Valu plans to IPO within a year + CBE cancels its MPC meeting

Good afternoon, folks, and happy almost-THURSDAY, which can’t come fast enough when it’s Ramadan.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

#1- Valu is coming to the EGX: EFG Holding’s fintech platform Valu plans to offer between 20-25% of its shares on the EGX within a year, Valu CEO Walid Hassouna told Asharq Business.

Valu has big plans for 2024: Valu aims to increase its net income in 2024 to EGP 500 mn, up from the EGP 230 mn it achieved last year, Hassouna continued. It also aims to increase transactions carried out through its platform in 2024 by 40% y-o-y to reach EGP 13 bn, he added.

The firm is also planning on closing an EGP 900 mn securitized bond issuance before the end of March, out of a total EGP 4 bn worth of securitized bonds that it plans to issue throughout the year, Hassouna adds.

#2- The Central Bank of Egypt will not hold its regularly scheduled policy meeting on Thursday, 28 March in light of its special meeting earlier this month when it hiked interest rates by 600 basis points in tandem with the EGP float, it said in a statement this afternoon (pdf).

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

It’s all eyes on the Fed in the international business press this afternoon: The US Federal Reserve is expected to signal that rate cuts aren’t imminent at the end of its two-day monetary policy meeting today, despite Chair Jerome Powell’s statement earlier this month that the bank is “not far” from the confidence it needs in a sustained decline of inflation towards its 2% target. “They’ll make it clear that they’re obviously not ready to cut rates. They need a few more data points to feel confident that inflation is heading back to target,” Moody’s Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi told CNBC. “I expect them to reaffirm three rate cuts this year, so that would suggest the first rate cut would be in June.” (Bloomberg | Associated Press | Reuters)

** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today’s EnterpriseAM:

• Another green hydrogen project incoming? Indian construction, engineering, and manufacturing firm Rana Group is looking to set up a green hydrogen project in Egypt with investments totaling USD 12 bn over the life of the project.
• Blinken is coming back to the region: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be heading back to Egypt and Saudi Arabia this week to push for a ceasefire and the release of hostages.
• MNT-Halan acquires struggling Pakistani microfinance bank: Fintech leader MNT-Halan has fully acquired Advans Pakistan Microfinance Bank (APMBL) after the transaction received final approvals from the State Bank of Pakistan and the Competition Commission of Pakistan.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Another day of sunshine in Cairo with a high of 27°C and a low of 16°C, according to our favorite weather app.