INVESTMENT WATCH- Azimut’s inaugural Egypt bond fund sees huge investor demand: Azimut’s new Egypt-focused fixed-income fund AZ-Savings was 6x oversubscribed in the nine-day private placement that ended on 21 October, Al Mal reports, citing a company statement. The Italy-based asset manager secured EGP 295.3 mn from over 100 investors, prompting Azimut to raise the fund’s ceiling to EGP 500 mn before the end of the subscription period. The fund’s initial investment target was not disclosed. This is the first mutual fund to be launched in Egypt after the Financial Regulatory Authority changed regulations back in 2018 to allow asset managers with over EGP 50 mn in capital to launch and manage their own funds.

Background: Azimut had tapped state-owned Banque du Caire and Ahli United Bank Kuwait to sell the investment certificates and contracted brokerage firms Mubasher, Naeem, Global Invest Securities, and Misr Capital to sell shares in the fund. Azimut earlier this year launched a Luxembourg-headquartered fund to invest in Egyptian equities, which was looking to secure USD 50 mn in AUM “as a first stage,” Abul Saad said at the time.