IPO WATCH- Emerald to kick off Egypt’s first (small) IPO of 2020 this week: The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) has given real estate investment firm Emerald the green light to list on the EGX and begin its private placement and public offering on Wednesday, Egyptian Real Estate Fund (EREF) CEO Hashem El Sayed tells Al Mal. EREF holds a 50% stake in the company. Emerald hopes to raise EGP 202.3 mn by selling a 28% stake (70 mn shares in total) at EGP 2.89 per share in the transaction, which will be Egypt’s first this year. Amwaj Company for Housing and Project Management and EREF, which each own 50% of the company, will each sell 14% of their holdings.

Advisors: The lead manager is Odin Investments, which is an indirect shareholder in the company through its holdings in the EREF.

Next on the IPO horizon: Banque du Caire (which will offer a 45% stake), e-Finance and Egyptian jewelry brand Egypt Gold have said they plan to make their market debuts during the first six months of the year, while Agriculture and commodities firm Cairo 3A also expects to list at some point this year. The EGX closed 2019 with only two IPOs, with Rameda Pharma going public in December after fintech player Fawry floated in August. Eastern Tobacco’s 4.5% secondary sale in March was the only state-owned company to go to market last year.