Four leading property developers in Egypt announced today plans to issue initial public offerings for 20-30% of their shares on local stock market next year. On the sidelines of the Cityscape Real Estate Summit, Emaar Misr, Arabia Group for Real Estate & Tourism Investment, Misr Italia, and Manazel Real Estate Development said they are aiming for IPOs for 20-30% of their shares on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) by the beginning of 2015. The IPOs plans come by virtue of financing ongoing projects including delivering units in time besides carrying out future expansions in the market. In this respect, Tarek Shoukry – CEO of Arabia Group for Real Estate & Tourism Investment – stated that his firm plans IPOs for 25-30% of its shares on the EGX within the first quarter of 2015. The IPO plans shall fund Arabia Group's future expansions and speed up the implementation of its ongoing projects, he added. Arabia Group is currently working on finalizing the assessment process so as to select the financial advisor for its highly-anticipated flotation on the Egyptian bourse, Shoukry noted. Meanwhile, Hany El Assal – CEO and Chairman of Misr Italia – said his firm is targeting an IPO for 20% of its shares on EGX within the current year. "Misr Italia is currently in talks with 3 investment banks, notably Beltone Financial to pitch for the assessment process." El Assal added. He further elaborated that the IPO plans of Misr Italia comes within the framework of funding its future expansions in the market. Moreover, Mohamed Alabbar, Chairman of UAE's property developer Emaar, said in a recent statement last March 16th, his firm is preparing its Egyptian unit for an IPO in Egypt. He further highlighted that the listing of the Egyptian unit was spurred by the solid results achieved by the company. He added that defining the volume and value of the share offering is underway. Emaar is in the final stages of discussions with banks on the best way to conduct the listing, he elaborated. Furthermore, Manazel Real Estate Development – Egyptian unit of Kuwait-based Manazel Holding – also studies issuing an IPO for some of its shares on the EGX within the current, according to sources spoke on condition of anonymity on Monday. The IPO will go for Manazel's New Cairo-based Layan Residence project which spreads on nearly 1 million sq m.
