ADX follows our lead on SPACs: The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and the Department of Economic Development have issued a proposal to the country’s securities regulator that, if approved, would allow blank-check firms to list on its bourse. The Financial Regulatory Authority greenlit a similar proposal to allow the establishment of blank-check firms just last week.

If you must SPAC, please SPAC at home: The bid to bring SPACs to the EGX seems to have been triggered by Egyptian start-up Swvl’s decision earlier this year to IPO on the US Nasdaq via a merger with a blank-check firm. Similarly, Abu Dhabi lost out on a public listing for homegrown startup Anghami when the firm chose to pursue a SPAC merger on the tech-heavy US index.

Look out for news on Anghami’s blank-check bid: The company has a deadline of 11 November to pull the trigger on its SPAC transaction with Vistas Media Acquisition Company. Things have been very quiet on this front since an extension on the execution date agreed earlier this year.

Other financial headlines worth noting:

• Dubai business activity hits two-year high: Rising demand and increased tourism activity thanks to Expo 2020 helped push Dubai’s PMI (pdf) to 54.5 in October, from 51.5 the month prior — the quickest rate of growth in two years.
• KSA is tapping global debt markets for the third time this year: Saudi Arabia is aiming to raise USD 4-8bn through a USD-denominated sukuk issuance, a source told Bloomberg, as the kingdom looks to lock in cheaper debt amid favorable economic conditions.

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 rose 0.8% yesterday on turnover of EGP 810.5 mn (45.9% below the 90-day average). Regional investors were net buyers. The index is up 6.9% YTD.

In the green: CIB (+2.7%), EKH-EGP (+2.3%) and EKH-USD (+2.1%).

In the red: Raya Holding (-3.5%), AMOC (-3.4%) and Heliopolis Housing (-3.1%).