Emaar Misr announced Sunday that its Board of Directors has approved raising the company's capital by EGP 600m, according to a company statement to the Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX). The statement by the Egyptian arm of UAE real estate developer Emaar also said the raise will be distributed among 600m shares. The firm's current issued capital is evaluated at EGP 4.019bn, and with the increase it is set to reach EGP 4.619bn. Meanwhile, the company revealed that it received subscription requests of approximately 3.23bn shares, upon closing the subscriptions phase, which lasted between 16-25 June, for Emaar's initial public offering (IPO) last Thursday. Earlier this month, Emaar Misr announced its plans to offer 600m shares, around 13% of the company's capital, at a price ranging between EGP 3.5 and EGP 4.25 per share. Around 15% (90m shares) of the company's offered shares were issued on the EGX. During the first quarter (Q1) of 2015, the construction company recorded a 462% increase in profits, with its net profits totalling EGP 172.7m. During the same quarter last year, the company's profits amounted to EGP 30.7m. In February, Emaar Properties announced it registered $912m in profits in 2014, a 30% increase compared to the $699m profits recorded the year before. The company said that approximately 54% of its total revenues came from shopping malls, retail and hospitality businesses. In February 2015, the EGX announced that Emaar Misr formally requested listing its shares on the stock market. For the remaining 85%, the company will have a private offering for eligible institutions, including Egyptian ones. The valued proceeds from the shares offered with the announced price will amount to EGP 2.3bn. The share listing will include public offering to retail investors and a private placement to local and international institutions. Emaar Misr identifies itself as being "the largest foreign direct investor in Egypt's real estate sector with an investment portfolio of EGP 53bn". Its constructed and ongoing projects in Egypt are Uptown Cairo, Cairo Gate, Marassi and Mivida.
