Back to the complete issue
Thursday, 11 April 2019

Egypt’s FRA signs off on new IPO regulations that could compel share buybacks

REGULATION WATCH- New IPO regulations from FRA compel share buybacks of stocks that underperform in their EGX debuts: The lead managers of initial public offerings will be required to use an “online display” accessible only to them and the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) to track orders during the book-building phase of any transaction, according to new FRA guidelines. The changes will allow investors to call on the issuing company to buy back the stock if the IPO tanks at its debut. Companies proceeding with IPOs or secondary offerings will also be required to clearly specify in the written contracts and the prospectus whether the share price was fixed at the outset of the transaction or left until the book building process. The move is the latest fallout from the regulator’s claim that Beltone Financial’s investment banking arm used a flawed pricing and book building process for an IPO last fall. Beltone’s IPO unit was suspended for six months in the aftermath; the suspension was lifted in February after the two sides reached a settlement.

Enterprise is a daily publication of Enterprise Ventures LLC, an Egyptian limited liability company (commercial register 83594), and a subsidiary of Inktank Communications. Summaries are intended for guidance only and are provided on an as-is basis; kindly refer to the source article in its original language prior to undertaking any action. Neither Enterprise Ventures nor its staff assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, whether in the form of summaries or analysis. © 2022 Enterprise Ventures LLC.

Enterprise is available without charge thanks to the generous support of HSBC Egypt (tax ID: 204-901-715), the leading corporate and retail lender in Egypt; EFG Hermes (tax ID: 200-178-385), the leading financial services corporation in frontier emerging markets; SODIC (tax ID: 212-168-002), a leading Egyptian real estate developer; SomaBay (tax ID: 204-903-300), our Red Sea holiday partner; Infinity (tax ID: 474-939-359), the ultimate way to power cities, industries, and homes directly from nature right here in Egypt; CIRA (tax ID: 200-069-608), the leading providers of K-12 and higher level education in Egypt; Orascom Construction (tax ID: 229-988-806), the leading construction and engineering company building infrastructure in Egypt and abroad; Moharram & Partners (tax ID: 616-112-459), the leading public policy and government affairs partner; Palm Hills Developments (tax ID: 432-737-014), a leading developer of commercial and residential properties; Mashreq (tax ID: 204-898-862), the MENA region’s leading homegrown personal and digital bank; Industrial Development Group (IDG) (tax ID:266-965-253), the leading builder of industrial parks in Egypt; Hassan Allam Properties (tax ID:  553-096-567), one of Egypt’s most prominent and leading builders; and Saleh, Barsoum & Abdel Aziz (tax ID: 220-002-827), the leading audit, tax and accounting firm in Egypt.