Initial public offerings (IPOs) on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) amounted to EGP 7.95bn in 2021. This included three IPOs, two of which were private sector offerings, Taleem for Management Services and Emerald for Development and Project Management, along with one for public sector company e-Finance. Sources believe that the EGX will witness four new IPOs in the first quarter (1Q) of the new year — including two from the business sector and two from the private sector — including Ebtikar e-Payments and Macro Group for Pharmaceuticals. The blue-chip EGX30 index, rose by up to 10.2% during 2021, jumping to 11,949 points by the end of last Thursday's session, up from the 10,845 points recorded in the first session of 2021 (January 3, 2021). Mohamed Othman, the head of the Technical Analysis Department at Al-Ahly Pharos Holding, said that the index is experiencing some profit-taking, thereby creating resistance for the index to reach 12,000 points, which is normal market reaction. He added that the fact that the index is closing near the yearly high, and the monthly closure — which is above 11,700 points — confirms the current bullish breakout and paves the way for strong advances to the next target levels — 12,250 then 12,500 points. "In the event of a decrease, it will be perceived as a temporary decline, and our point of view will remain as long as the index keeps trading above the crucial 11,700 point level. The first minor support level is 11,830 points, which is the lowest level in the last three sessions," Othman said. EGX market capital rose by the end of 2021 by up to 17%, recording EGP 765.6bn. The market capitalisation of the shares listed on the EGX in the first session of 2021 amounted to approximately EGP 653.3bn. The total capital increases implemented by the listed companies amounted to EGP 20bn during 2021. Chairperson of the EGX Mohamed Farid revealed that the stock exchange is currently working on launching new indices in the coming period. He explained that the new indicators allow a logical comparison between market indicators, whether those pertaining to the specific relative weights methodology or those related to company values. Farid added during a press conference held last Thursday to announce the 2021 harvest that the EGX is studying the launch of the EGX30 index with specific weights. Since the beginning of the year, Egyptians represented 81.8% of the value traded in listed stocks after excluding deals, with foreigners and Arabs accounting for the remaining 10.9 and 7.3%, respectively. Foreigners were net sellers by EGP 6,623.9m and Arabs were net buyers by EGP 2,247.4m after excluding deals in listed stocks during 2021.
