Three Egyptian private companies are expected to debut the Egypt Exchange (EGX) by the end of second quarter (Q2) of 2019, as market conditions are improving following tough times which struck most emerging markets worldwide, senior market sources told Daily News Egypt.
“The companies are actually working on finalising their prospectuses, the offering requirements, and all documentation associated with the listing,” the sources explained, giving no further details about these companies.
“We could see at least one offering is going public by Q2 of the year, and the other two initial public offerings (IPOs) could take place sometimes in the second half of the year. More listings are expected to come as long as markets conditions are still favourable for investors,” they added.
Last week, the EGX Chairperson, Mohamed Farid, said that three private Egyptian companies are planning to launch IPOs by the end of 2019.
Two of the three companies have a combined market value of EGP 14bn ($807.78m) in the EGX, Farid stated.
The top official did not name the would-be private firms nor reveal the expected value of their IPOs.
A group of planned offerings has been delayed in 2018 due to causes relevant to the local market.
Earlier in March, Eastern Company, Egypt’s monopoly cigarette manufacturer, implemented both its private placement and IPO on the EGX, with a total value of EGP 1.72bn.
Meanwhile, Orange Egypt for Telecommunications is considering floating a stake on the EGX again, said Yassir Shaker, the company’s CEO and managing director.
The telecom Egyptian subsidiary of France-based Orange has invested around EGP 4bn in order to improve its network in 2018, in addition to EGP 1.5bn for maintenance, Reuters reported, citing Shaker.
The company also aims to invest around EGP 3.8bn into its network this year, along with allocating EGP 1.5bn for maintenance, Shaker added.
The Egyptian unit of the French telecom group is expected to turn profitable as of Q1 of 2019 until it posts annual financial results, he indicated.
In November 2018, the EGX’s listing committee had approved finally writing off Orange Egypt’s shares of EGP 16.3bn in capital from the EGX.
