State-owned e-Finance is eyeing potential acquisitions of companies in the fintech sector, specifically fintech businesses licensed to provide financial services such as e-payments, insurance and microfinance, chairman and managing director Ibrahim Sarhan told Al-Mal editor-in-chief Hazem Sherif (watch, runtime: 1:02:03). The e-payments firm — which plans to IPO in a move which would go a long way towards kickstarting the dormant state privatization program — has an ambitious expansion plan that involves acquisitions, setting up new subsidiaries, or adding new business lines, Sarhan said. E-finance is also planning an expansion into Africa, which will be funded using proceeds from its upcoming IPO, the top executive told us last week.

Speaking of the IPO, e-Finance’s planned debut on the EGX got a shot in the arm last week, when the government’s IPO committee approved a fair value assessment of the company’s shares, Sarhan told us then. Sarhan had told the local press back in April that the company would IPO sometime during 2H2021. If true, that raises hopes that e-Finance would be among the four IPOs that EGX Chairman Mohamed Farid said would be taking place in the second half of the year.

No word from e-Finance: We reached out to Sarhan, but he wasn’t available to comment as of dispatch time.

Advisors: CI Capital, Pharos and Renaissance Capital will manage the e-Finance IPO. Zaki Hashem & Partners, meanwhile, is legal counsel, and BDO is the independent financial advisor for preparing the fair value report.