الهيئة العامة للرقابة المالية

Dr. Islam Azzam – FRA Chairman:

• “Listing three petroleum firms and one tourism company strengthens the capital market, offering diversified, balanced, and risk-resilient portfolios.”
• “Sector diversity and high-capacity firms are key to attracting sophisticated investors who can develop assets.”
• “The FRA partners in IPO success by streamlining procedures and ensuring a supportive regulatory environment.”
• “We prioritize training ‘temporarily listed’ companies in governance and transparency to boost investor confidence.”

This morning, Dr. Islam Azzam, FRA Chairman participated in the opening bell-ringing ceremony at the Egyptian Exchange (EGX). The event celebrated the temporary listing of four state-owned companies—three from the petroleum sector and one from the tourism sector. This move marks a new executive milestone under the state-owned enterprises (SOE) IPO strategy, aimed at broadening ownership, enhancing asset management efficiency, stimulating capital market activity and attracting more domestic and foreign investment.

The temporary listing includes Engineering for the Petroleum and Process Industries (Enppi), the Egyptian Linear Alkyl Benzene Company (ELAB), Petroleum Marine Services Co. (PMS) alongside El- Maamoura for Construction and Tourism Development Company, a subsidiary of the Holding Company for Tourism and Hotels. This step serves as a critical regulatory precursor to complete the offering process, helping to elevate levels of disclosure and corporate governance, ensure company readiness for the capital market, and expand investment horizons for institutions and individual investors alike.

The temporary listing mechanism allows companies to initiate preliminary registration procedures and prepare draft prospectuses. It grants them a legally defined grace period to fulfill the requirements for free-float share percentages and minimum shareholder counts—a flexible framework designed to accelerate offering readiness and enhance capital attraction.

The ceremony was attended by high-ranking officials, reflecting the vital economic significance of the event. Key attendees included Dr. Hussein Issa, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs; Eng. Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources; Dr. Hashem El-Sayed, Assistant Prime Minister and CEO of the State-Owned Enterprises Unit; Mr. Omar Radwan, Chairman of the Egyptian Exchange (EGX); and Mr. Mohamed Sabry, Vice Chairman of the EGX, alongside senior leadership from the petroleum and capital market sectors and heads of the listed companies.

In his keynote address, FRA Chairman Dr. Islam Azzam affirmed that all regulatory and government authorities fully support the state IPO program as a primary vehicle for implementing the State Ownership Policy Document and targets of Egypt Vision 2030, particularly as the Egyptian Exchange continues to demonstrate its efficiency, resilience and growing appeal.

He added that deepening the capital market and expanding the base of listed companies represent core pillars of the Authority’s strategy, a goal directly supported by the temporary listing mechanism. He noted that the inclusion of companies from the petroleum sector diversifies the market’s foundation, enabling investors to build more diverse portfolios across different economic sectors. This diversification mitigates risks associated with concentrating investments in a single company or sector, thereby attracting institutional and strategic investors capable of long-term asset development.

FRA Chairman further stated that the entry of companies from the petroleum and tourism sectors sends a highly positive signal to the market. It underscores the state’s commitment to expand the listing base within its most successful industries, while enhancing the efficiency of offering process in full collaboration with various market stakeholders.

Dr. Islam Azzam highlighted the Authority’s pivotal role in streamlining and accelerating regulatory procedures while ensuring strict compliance with governing laws. He emphasized FRA’s focus on identifying practical challenges and overcoming them in close coordination with government bodies and the companies slated for offering. Most importantly, he stressed the commitment to build professional capacities and foster a culture of financial literacy within these companies. This ensures a comprehensive understanding of disclosure, transparency and corporate governance rules—all essential elements for building market confidence and protecting investors’ rights.

In this context, he confirmed that FRA, in cooperation with the Egyptian Exchange (EGX), will organize a series of training programs focused on listing requirements, ongoing disclosure obligations and the implementation of best practices in corporate governance. These initiatives aim to enhance corporate readiness for the capital market and support the seamless execution of future business plans alongside the financial and technical frameworks of the upcoming offerings.

For his part, Dr. Hussein Issa, Deputy Prime Minister, praised the effective and joint coordination among the Ministry of Petroleum, the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) and Egyptian Exchange (EGX). He noted that temporary listing of these companies accelerates the implementation of the state IPO program, which aims to involve the private sector and citizens in owning successful assets, thereby maximizing their value and upgrading their financial and administrative performance.

Meanwhile, Eng. Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, expressed his pride in these companies joining the EGX platform. He emphasized that the petroleum sector is rich with entities offering promising investment opportunities and that the temporary listing will provide these companies with the momentum needed to restructure internally and meet final offering requirements within the specified timeframe, utilizing innovative financing channels provided by capital markets.

Furthermore, Dr. Hashem El-Sayed, Assistant Prime Minister and CEO of the State-Owned Enterprises Unit, explained that the number of temporarily listed companies on the EGX has reached 20 out of the 30 total companies announced under the state IPO program. He added that the upcoming period will witness the inclusion of firms from other highly attractive sectors, expressing his gratitude to FRA for its regulatory and supervisory support of the program.

Mr. Omar Radwan, Chairman of the Egyptian Exchange (EGX), welcomed the new companies, noting that the EGX management, in coordination with the State-Owned Enterprises Unit, is working diligently to streamline obstacles and provide full technical support to newly listed firms to fulfill final offering requirements. He explained that the EGX has become highly capable of absorbing large-scale IPOs, thanks to continuous upgrades to the market’s technological and legislative infrastructure.

It is worth noting that a few days ago, the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) hosted an extensive meeting bringing together all stakeholders involved in the IPO process from the state, alongside representatives from investment banks, financial advisors and auditors. It was mutually agreed that meeting final offering requirements is the primary goal of the temporary listing process, ensuring the improvement of corporate structures and increasing investment awareness of available opportunities, while providing full protection for the interests of market participants.