Misr Ins. Holding (MIH) has tapped Zaki Hashem & Partners as legal advisors for the process of offering its subsidiary, Misr Life Ins., on the EGX, Chairman Basel El Hiny said in a press conference yesterday.

MIH is looking to list 25% Misr Life on the EGX during 2H2022 as part of the state privatization program, El Hiny told us back in October. The state-owned company has completed all the internal procedures needed for its planned IPO and is currently waiting on approvals from other authorities, El Hiny said. The company previously announced that it appointed NI Capital as its financial advisor for the offering.

But when to pull the trigger? That depends on market conditions, he said.

Market conditions haven’t been great this year, with the EGX30 falling into correction territory last week and foreign investors leaving the market on concerns about the impact of the ongoing commodity price shock on the economy. The benchmark index is now down 12.3% from its recent peak in January.

The potential sale of a stake in Misr Life comes as MIH reports improving earnings: The company reported a 5% increase in net income in 2020-2021.

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The company will announce a new leasing and factoring arm in the coming weeks and has already received approval from the Financial Regulatory Authority, El Hini said. MIH has previously tried to enter the non-bank sector by making acquisitions but was unsuccessful, he said.

MIH is working on a second investment in education: After contributing to the launch of the Lighthouse Education investment platform, MIH plans to deepen its footprint in the "promising" education sector, El Hini said, without providing further details. The company invested EGP 125 mn in Lighthouse, which reached a first close of EGP 560 mn in November.