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The Egyptian Exchange (EGX) started trading on Ibnsina Pharma. It’s the company number 221 to be listed in the main market.
The ceremony took place in the presence of H.E. Dr. Sahar Nasr, Minister of Investment and International Cooperation, Mr. Mohamed Farid, Chairman of the Egyptian Exchange and Mr. Mohamed Abdel Salam Chairman of Misr for Central Clearing, Depository and Registry, as well as the Chairman of Ibnsina Pharma and representatives of Beltone Financial Holding, the IPO manager.
Minister of Investment and International Cooperation, Dr. Sahar Nasr, said that capital markets play an important role in mobilizing the necessary savings to finance economic growth and development. This will enhance the role of the non-banking financial sector, in diversifying sources of financing for corporate expansions and thus supporting the Government's economic and social development plan.
Mr. Mohamed Farid said that the management of the exchange has an integrated vision to raise the efficiency and depth of the market through listing new companies from different sectors, accordingly achieving growth and economic development, and increasing volumes of trading, which is the basic guarantee for the success of new IPOs.
This coincides with the development plan adopted by the management of the exchange aimed to list new companies and improving the trading environment through the introduction and activation of new financial instruments and products, while increasing the area of communication with international institutions, local and international, which represent the demand side.
He also added: "The management is focused on the quality of companies, not just the number of new companies, in order to have good financial and management companies to attract investors". Then he announced the start of preparing a research paper regarding the role of capital markets in providing financing mechanisms and products compared to other financing opportunities, as well as making comparative studies on the rules of listing and disclosure.
Mohsen Mahgoub, Chairman of Ibnsina Pharma, said that the large coverage of the public and private offerings "is a strong indicator of investor confidence in the Egyptian market in general and the pharmaceutical sector in particular".
Omar Abdel Gawad, Managing Director of Ibn Sina, said that the stability of the economic situation in Egypt after the recent reforms, the liberalization of the exchange rate, and the peaks witnessed by the exchange had encouraged the company to take the step of offering through direct selling and capital increase, where a huge part of it will be used in expansion in the Egyptian Market.
Dr. Sameh Al-Turgoman, Chairman of Beltone Financial Holding, said: "The high demand from foreign investors underscores the confidence that international institutions and investment funds attach to the Egyptian economy following recent reforms, especially the liberalization of the exchange rate. He also explained that Beltone Financial had no difficulty in promoting the company's offering to foreign investors, which showed in the size of coverage.
Hassan al-Khatib, Chief Executive Officer of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said. "The bank's investments have contributed to the development of Ibnsina and have helped making the pharmaceutical sector more competitive". He added: "We are particularly pleased that our support for Ibnsina has led to the success of the IPO process, which will contribute to enhancing the role of the capital market in financing growth".
Mohammed Al-Akhdar, Head of the Investment Banking Sector at Beltone, said that the private coverage was about 17 times, with foreign investors accounting for 43.81% and Arabs at 19.97%, while Egyptians accounted for 36.21%. While the coverage of the public offering more than 18 times, the Egyptians accounted for 92.22%, Arabs at 6.59% and foreigners at 1.19%.
Last Sunday witnessed the execution of public and private offerings for about 269.4 million shares representing about 40.1% of the total issued shares of the company and a total value of about 1.6 billion pounds.
