Today: Experts suggest that while demand for fundamentally strong companies remains, high-stakes Egyptian IPOs are being delayed as firms wait for regional tensions to ease and market valuations to recover from current historic lows.

🔔 EGX30 ended -2.6% by market close at 45,189 points, the EGX70 fell 0.9% to 12,499 points, and the EGX100 fell 1.2% to reach 17,373 points.

💸 The number of transactions reached 157,400 spread across 1,731,843,014 stocks leading to a turnover of EGP 6.588 billion.

🏷️ Local investors were the only net buyers.

📈 Top gainers for the market as a whole included Housing & Development Bank (+10.0%), Suez Canal Bank (+7.1%), and Gmc Group For Industrial Commercial & Financial Investments (+5.0%).

📉 Top losers for the market included M.B Engineering (-10.3%), U Consumer Finance (-6.0%), and Suez Canal Company For Technology Settling (-5.5%).

⬆️ Top gainers for EGX30 included Orascom Investment Holding (+2.2%) and GB Corp (+0.9%).

⬇️ Top losers included Edita (-5.2%), Abu Qir Fertilizers (-4.8%), and Amoc (-4.1%).

Other Important Stats: 

🧈 24K Gold reached EGP 8.160 per gram, up 1.3% day-on-day but unchanged month-on-month.

💲 The USD reached EGP 54.6 at the National Bank of Egypt.

Regional tensions have slowed IPO activity, but haven’t stopped it. Hany Genena, Head of Research at Al Ahly Pharos, tells EnterpriseAM that long-term institutional investors remain ready to back fundamentally strong companies; the main challenge is timing, not demand, as firms wait for conditions that allow better valuations.

Companies positioning for the future

Some companies are preparing quietly. Tanmiya Capital Ventures continues getting Copad Pharma ready for a potential listing, with Managing Partner Mohamed Mahgoub telling the news outlet that a fourth-quarter IPO is still possible if either market conditions recover or investors adapt to ongoing geopolitical risks.

State-backed offerings on the horizon

Several government-linked IPOs are in the queue. Banque du Caire, along with military-affiliated Safi and Wataneya, are expected to proceed once market conditions improve, while names like Silo Foods, Chill Out, and the National Roads Company could follow later.

Valuation challenges

Valuations remain a key hurdle. Genena tells EnterpriseAM that the Commercial International Bank (CIB) — often used as a benchmark for foreign investors — is trading well below its historical range, roughly half its prior eight- to ten-times-earnings level, reflecting a cautious market. This weak pricing environment makes it difficult for new listings, including state privatizations, to achieve attractive prices.

Foreign investors’ influence

CIB is compared to Gulf banks in global indices like MSCI Emerging Markets, Genena explains to EnterpriseAM, tying its valuation to regional benchmarks where investors typically target low single-digit dividend yields.

IPO reopenings hinge on sentiment

Ultimately, the IPO market’s revival depends on a shift in sentiment. Higher liquidity and renewed investor confidence, especially as geopolitical risks ease, will be crucial for companies to feel comfortable moving forward with listings, according to sources speaking to the news outlet.

April 1, 2026:

Giza General Contracting and Real Estate Investment - dividend distribution date for EGP 0.5 per share. The record date is March 31.

April 9th:

Commercial International Bank - dividend distribution date for EGP 6 per share. The record date is April 6.

📉 The Egyptian pound has plunged to a record low of around 54.6 per dollar, down roughly 14% since the start of the US-Israel-Iran war, as demand for foreign currency surges and pressure mounts on the FX market, according to bankers speaking to Asharq. Sources told the news outlet that the decline is driven by foreign investors exiting local debt and a sharp spike in import financing, as businesses rush to secure goods, with pressures expected to continue until geopolitical tensions ease.

⚡ British multinational energy company BP is stepping up its investments in Egypt, planning to allocate USD 1.5 billion toward gas exploration and field development in the coming fiscal year, according to the Oil Ministry. Oil Minister Karim Badawi said the move is aimed at gradually boosting domestic production and reducing reliance on costly gas imports, as global energy pressures continue to intensify.