Americana shares climb in its dual debut: Americana Group, the operator of KFC and Pizza Hut in the Middle East, saw its share price climb on its trading debut following a dual listing in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, Bloomberg reports. Shares rose 13% in Abu Dhabi to AED 2.95 and 6.7% in Riyadh to SAR 2.86 after raising USD 1.8 bn in the IPO ⁠— the biggest in Saudi Arabia this year and the third-largest in the UAE, according to the news outlet. The multinational company offered a 30% stake (2.5 bn shares) at SAR 2.68 apiece, valuing the company at USD 6 bn following a bookbuilding that was oversubscribed within hours of opening last month.

The IPO was good news for Emaar founder Mohamed Alabbar who joined the region’s 10-figure club on the back of USD 900 mn in proceeds from the share sale, according to Bloomberg.

Saudi Aramco is in talks with investors to back its USD 110 bn Jafurah gas project — one of the world’s largest unconventional gas fields, Bloomberg reports. The state oil giant has reportedly reached out to infrastructure investors and private equity firms for the project, which could see it sell stakes in a number of assets such as carbon capture and storage facilities, pipelines and hydrogen plants, people familiar with the matter told the news outlet. Evercore is reportedly advising Aramco on the transaction.

	EGX30	14,724	+0.9% (YTD: +23.2%)
	USD (CBE)	Buy 24.62	Sell 24.69
	USD at CIB	Buy 24.61	Sell 24.68
	Interest rates CBE	13.25% deposit	14.25% lending
	Tadawul	10,033	-1.0% (YTD: -11.1%)
	ADX	10,155	-0.9% (YTD: +19.6%)
	DFM	3,317	-0.2% (YTD: +3.8%)
	S&P 500	3,991	+1.4% (YTD: -16.3%)
	FTSE 100	7,446	-0.4% (YTD: +0.8%)
	Euro Stoxx 50	3,922	-0.5% (YTD: -8.8%)
	Brent crude	USD 78.13	+2.7%
	Natural gas (Nymex)	USD 6.52	+4.5%
	Gold	USD 1,791.90	-1.0%
	BTC	USD 17,175	+0.3% (YTD: -62.8%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 rose 0.9% at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 2.5 bn (75.9% above the 90-day average). Regional investors were net buyers. The index is up 23.2% YTD.

In the green: Qalaa Holding (+8.7%), Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals (+6.3%) and Telecom Egypt (+3.3%).

In the red: CIRA Education (-2.6%), GB Auto (-2.4%) and Cleopatra Hospitals (-2.3%).