Another two listings coming this year? An agricultural company and a petrochemicals firm will offer shares on the EGX this year, bourse chairman Mohamed Farid said yesterday, without disclosing whether they would be primary or secondary offerings. This came on the same day that Public Enterprises Minister Hisham Tawfik announced that two or three state-owned companies will sell shares in 3Q2021 in a reboot of the state privatization program.

Egypt has caught some of the global IPO fever in the past few weeks: Higher education management company Taaleem saw strong demand from institutional players and retail traders when it kicked off its IPO last week, while cosmeceutical and nutraceutical player Macro Pharma will start trading on 19 April. Consumer healthcare company IDH could go ahead with a 5% technical listing as soon as this month.

State priva-what program? Yeah, it has been a while. Even before covid, the government’s privatization drive had seen repeated delays and cancellations, with only Eastern Company going ahead with a secondary offering in the three years since the program was announced. The program ran headlong into global market turmoil last year though as the pandemic sent shockwaves through the global markets .Alexandria Containers, Abu Qir Fertilizers, and Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals have also pushed back stake sales.

ALSO KEEP YOUR EYE ON: Naguib Sawiris’ Ora Developers could IPO on the EGX at some point in the future and is currently planning to acquire a 600-acre land plot on the North Coast.