Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey court foreign capital as doors to regional markets widen

The region spent today widening the doors for foreign money. MNT-Halan priced its Cairo listing with a London fund and CIB committing to more than a third of the base offering, FTSE Russell took Egypt off the watchlist that threatened a demotion to frontier, and Qatar Central Bank wired its QAR bonds into Euroclear so foreigners can buy without a local bank in between. Halkbank is out roadshowing a USD 1.7 bn share sale in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, London, and New York.

MNT-Halan’s Egypt arm priced at EGP 24.5 a share, valuing it at EGP 39.2 bn (c. USD 750 mn) — a quarter below the USD 1 bn bankers pitched in June. The prospectus out yesterday puts the base offering of 320 mn secondary shares, 20% of the company, at EGP 7.84 bn (c. USD 150 mn) gross. Trading starts 20 October, founder and CEO Mounir Nakhla tells Asharq Business.

The cornerstones are near a third. London’s Redwheel signed for c. USD 20 mn alongside CIB’s commitment of up to EGP 2 bn (USD 38.2 mn), together up to 39% of the base offering, by our math. Nakhla put it at “more than a third.”

Subscriptions open today. Institutions and wealthy individuals have until next Tuesday, 13 October for 272 mn shares, 85% of the offering, and the public tranche runs to next Thursday, 15 October for the remaining 48 mn, according to an EGX notice. The private tranche can be upsized by 80 mn shares to 25% of the company, with FRA approval.

FTSE Russell has taken Egypt off the watchlist for demotion to frontier market. The index provider is keeping the country as a Secondary Emerging Market, according to a statement. Egypt went on the watchlist in September 2025 after the number of Egyptian constituents in the FTSE Emerging Index fell to one, below the minimum of two. Government reforms and EGX initiatives have since lifted liquidity enough for a second Egyptian stock to qualify in the March and September 2026 reviews, FTSE Russell said.

Qatar is opening its QAR debt market to foreign investors. Qatar Central Bank and Euroclear will set up a link letting global investors buy and settle QAR government bonds and sukuk through Euroclear Bank, the two said in a joint statement. Foreigners have until now gone through a local bank. Doha has 104 listed government instruments worth QAR 166 bn (USD 45.6 bn).

Doha needs the foreign buyers more than its auction headlines suggest. September’s QAR 400 mn tap drew 10x cover on shrinking supply, auction sizes down from QAR 2.5 bn in February and the two-year spread over Treasuries in from c. 67 bps to c. 19 bps, as we noted. Last month, it sold USD 3 bn of USD-denominated bonds on orders of USD 7.7 bn. No launch date yet, and neither side has said which bonds qualify. The prize is index inclusion. Saudi Arabia signed its Euroclear link in 2021, weeks after FTSE Russell said it would add Saudi sukuk to its EM government bond index.

Halkbank wants foreign money to fund its next capital raise. Turkey’s third-largest state lender has launched a roadshow for a secondary offering worth c. USD 1.7 bn at current prices, CEO Suleyman Ozdil tells Reuters, after meeting nearly 60 investors in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, London, and New York. Ozdil gave no size or date, and the bank said it will launch “at the earliest opportunity.”

A sharp U-turn: Its 2020, 2022, and 2023 capital increases all went to the Turkey Wealth Fund through private placements, which now owns 91.5%. The timing is awkward, with the BIST 100 in a bear market after its worst month since 2008. Ozdil said investors see banks as cheap and the first stop for Turkey exposure. It raised USD 1.1 bn internationally after the US dismissed its Iran sanctions case, on top of USD 3.9 bn before, according to a filing, and set up a USD 5 bn note program in July.

Turkey’s fund crash has turned into a deposit windfall for its banks. Most of the TRY 743 bn (USD 15 bn) pulled from funds on the Tefas platform in September went into bank deposits, BofA Securities said Monday, Bloomberg reports. Deposits rose about TRY 950 bn, mainly in TRY and FX corporate accounts.

The money stayed in the country. The central bank sold USD 9.5 bn to meet FX demand, but BofA sees no meaningful change in the pace of lira depreciation, echoing Goldman Sachs’ view that the cash was going mostly into lira. BofA still expects a 100 bps rate cut in October, arguing the crisis raises downside risks without yet justifying faster easing.

ICYMI- The Capital Markets Board has ordered 131 funds from seven firms into liquidation, holding c. TRY 800 bn for 455,758 investors, with interim payouts capped at TRY 1 mn per investor per fund.

MGX is in talks to put UAE money into OpenAI at a USD 1.2 tn valuation. Several UAE investment funds including Abu Dhabi’s MGX, alongside BlackRock, are negotiating to join a USD 30 bn financing round for the ChatGPT maker, Bloomberg reports, citing unnamed sources. The UAE funds are expected to form a syndicate investing as much as USD 10 bn. The fundraise is ongoing and details may change, the sources said. OpenAI has been courting investors for a raise that would take it to that valuation before a public debut.

IN CONTEXT- MGX AI Investment chief Ali Osman told Bloomberg in February that the fund plans to spend as much as USD 10 bn a year on select companies. It co-led Anthropic’s Series G, leaving it a backer of OpenAI, xAI, and Anthropic.

AD Ports has bought its way into South America. Its Noatum Ports arm has taken 100% of CLI Norte at Itaqui and 80% of CLI Sul at Santos after sign-off from regulators Antaq and Cade, giving it Brazil’s largest sugar export terminal and a grain gateway on the northern corridor, Splash247 and Seatrade Maritime report. At USD 835 mn it is the group’s largest acquisition since the take-private closed.

Abu Dhabi’s International Resources Holdings has made a non-binding proposal for Kenmare Resources. The Dublin-listed Irish titanium miner said talks with IRH are ongoing, with the bidder given until 17 November to announce a firm offer or walk away, according to a company statement (pdf). Kenmare stressed there is no certainty of an agreement or on what terms. IRH is pursuing the deal while Zambia’s ZCCM-IH publicly accuses it of breaching its obligations at Mopani Copper Mines.

BlueFive786 is buying into an Indonesian shariah fund manager. BlueFive Capital’s shariah-compliant platform is taking a stake in PT Majoris Asset Management, its first transaction in Southeast Asia, according to a press release (pdf). Majoris will be rebranded BlueFiveMajoris, with both the investment and the rebrand needing sign-off from Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority. Neither the size of the stake nor the value was disclosed. BlueFive founder Hazem Ben-Gacem flagged the Jakarta push last month.

Neopay is buying into Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The Dubai-based merchant acquirer has agreed to buy a 65% controlling stake in Noon Payments, the online payment gateway of e-commerce platform Noon, according to a press release. Neither side disclosed the price, and the transaction still needs regulatory and antitrust approval.

The pitch to merchants is one provider across Saudi, the UAE, and Egypt for both in-store terminals and online checkout, where a retailer selling across the GCC typically deals with a different acquirer and gateway in each market. The combined company says it will offer cross-border settlement and faster onboarding.

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