CAIRO: Egypt’s small and medium-size enterprises (SME) stock exchange Nilex will open for trade on June 3, with at least one of its 10 listed companies planning an immediate public share offering.
"The Nile Exchange was launched … with the goal of helping promising small and medium-sized companies obtain the finance necessary to expand and grow, which should increase their ability to compete and provide more jobs," Egypt’s main stock exchange said in statement.
Under the Nilex’s listing requirements, each of the 10 companies must sell 10 percent of their shares to the public.
Al Bader Plastic, which makes packaging and components for pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, said it planned to offer shares on June 3.
"We plan a public offering of 23 percent of the company’s shares," Chairman Tamer Badr El Din said on Tuesday.
The Alexandria-based plastics company has 1.7 million shares each with a face value of LE 1 ($0.18), giving it capital of about $300,000.
On the Nilex’s first day, there will be no share movement limits up or down. On subsequent days, there will a 20 percent limit, the stock market statement said.
On Egypt’s main exchange, the benchmark index fell 6.1 percent on Tuesday to its lowest point since Nov. 30.
Nilex’s trading will run daily from 0900 GMT to 1200 GMT. Bids and offers will be entered during the final 10 minutes, and trades will be executed after the market’s close at the prices that secure the biggest volumes.
Since the first company was listed on the Nilex in 2008, many regional and international investment funds have expressed a desire to invest on the exchange, indicating a large demand, the statement said.
Al Bader Plastics said it is also seeking regulatory approval to increase its capital to LE 3.6 million ($5.16 million) using retained earnings.
"If we get the approval, we will carry out the capital increase on June 3," Badr El Din said. "If we don’t get the approval, we will implement the increase within a week or two of the beginning of trade on the exchange."
