The strong performance extended to regional stock exchanges, with the MSCI Emerging Markets Index rising 25%, followed by the EGX 30 Index (Egyptian Exchange), which gained 23.3%, and the Boursa Kuwait Premier Market Index, which climbed 19.6%.

The surge in IPO activity across MENA reflects broader economic diversification efforts and deepening capital markets. In Saudi Arabia, real GDP grew 5% in the third quarter from a year earlier, driven by strong gains in both oil and non-oil sectors, official data showed. On the other hand, in Egypt, the economy expanded 4.77% in the third quarter of fiscal year 2024/25, supported by an 18.8% year-on-year increase in non-oil manufacturing.

According to Brad Watson, EY-Parthenon MENA leader, the recent quarter “reflects the increasing depth and maturity of MENA capital markets, supported by a steady pace of listings across multiple sectors and geographies.”

He also noted that the companies are “becoming increasingly strategic with market timing — carefully assessing investor sentiment and macroeconomic conditions before going public.”

Saudi Arabia accounted for the majority of IPO activity, completing eight listings that raised a combined USD 637 million. Dar Al Majed Real Estate Co.’s USD 336 million listing on the Tadawul Main Market led the region, followed by Marketing Home Group for Trading with USD 109 million and Sport Clubs with USD 69 million. An additional USD 124.1 million was raised through IPOs on the Nomu parallel market, spanning sectors such as retail, healthcare, and industrial services. Real estate accounted for 55% of proceeds on the main exchange.

Egypt recorded IPOs from Bonyan For Development & Trade SAE and National Printing, while Morocco saw the listing of Vicenne SA, signalling growing regional diversification. Gregory Hughes, EY-Parthenon MENA IPO leader, told the Arab News that “with lower oil prices, we continue to see economic diversification from non-oil revenues, and the sector focus in Saudi Arabia has shifted from healthcare and mobility to real estate, hospitality, construction, and retail.”

The pipeline for the Q4 2025 and beyond already looks robust, with 19 entities across various sectors preparing to list. Saudi Arabia leads with 13 planned listings, including Almasar Alshamil Education Co. and Al Romansiah Co., both of which have secured Capital Market Authority approval. In the UAE, ALEC Holdings PJSC debuted on the Dubai Financial Market in October 2025.

Outside the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Algeria’s Diar Dzair and Morocco’s Gharb Papier Et Carton SA are reportedly awaiting regulatory approvals for planned IPOs.

While the brightened outlook is supported by positive policy momentum, diversified investor interest, and increasing integration of environmental, social, and governance principles, regulatory environments across the region have continued to evolve as well.

“In the UAE, updated governance reforms now permit the combination of board chair and CEO roles under specific conditions, while in Saudi Arabia, the Capital Market Authority has launched consultations on changes to market-making rules and foreign ownership limits aimed at enhancing liquidity and accessibility,” Arab News noted.

The post MENA IPOs raise USD 700 million in Q3 2025: Report appeared first on International Finance.

“By continuously diversifying into new business lines, it has successfully maintained its status as a leader across all market segments,” Attijariwafa bank Group told International Finance.

Attijariwafa bank, over the years, has emerged as a leading banking and financial Group in Africa.

Apart from its banking activity, Attijariwafa bank Group is now providing a wide range of financial services through several subsidiaries. Be it insurance, mortgage, consumer credit, fast transfers, leasing, factoring, stock brokerage, asset management, M&A or market advisory, the venture is at the forefront of the banking revolution in Africa.

Headquartered in Morocco, Attijariwafa bank Group is serving more than 11 million personal banking, professional banking, corporate and institutional customers across 26 countries, thanks to its 20,467 employees and network of 5,900 branches.

“In Egypt, the bank started its operations in 2017 after the successful acquisition of Barclays Bank Egypt to start its journey of continued success in the market since then. The bank operates through a network of 63 branches and 102 ATMs covering key cities in Egypt. Its highly professional and skilled 1,300 employees proudly serve a large enterprise client base including leading international, regional, and domestic companies as well as a strong base of more than 120,000 retail-banking customers across the country,” the venture told International Finance further.

Making The Difference In African Society

In May 2019, Attijariwafa bank Group created history, as the Africa Development Club Egypt (ADC Egypt), officially became operational in the Egyptian market by launching unique services through its networking vehicle for business interests as it provides access to information, training, services and expert advice to all its members, to help entrepreneurs implementing their projects, assisting governments with their major infrastructure projects and fostering South-South and North-South cooperation.

“Since the inception of its operations in Egypt, Attijariwafa bank Egypt has been committed towards the concept of responsible banking, whereby the bank established a firm belief that sustainable development is a crucial part of doing business. As the bank matured into its endeavours towards sustainability, the bank issued its first Sustainability Report in line with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and alignment with UN Sustainable Development Goals and Egypt’s Sustainable Development Agenda; Vision 2030. In the same context, Attijariwafa bank Egypt issued its first Carbon Footprint report in 2022,” the venture remarked further.

Supporting women-led start-ups, increasing access to finance and developing women-specialised products have occupied a special place in the bank’s line-up of financial services. Staying true to its purpose, in 2020, Attijariwafa bank Egypt launched the first female Debit Card “Maaki”.

“Internally, Gender Equality at the workplace is another acclaimed aspect of good governance and sustainability evidenced by a nearly permanent 40% split of women across the different positions from entry to management levels. The Board of Directors is also chaired by a female veteran banker, Ms. Halla Sakr, and its composition of women stands at around 30%,” the venture told International Finance further.

The Road Ahead

In the nine months of 2023, Attijariwafa bank Egypt achieved substantial growth as its net profit reached EGP 1.43 billion, a notable increase from EGP 592 million during the same period in 2022, thereby marking an impressive growth of EGP 834.3 million or 141%.

As for investments, Attijariwafa bank Egypt achieved a qualitative leap in the market share of fixed-income instruments (secondary market), which reached 18.37% on September 30, 2023, compared to 11.56% in 2022, with a trading value of 1.2 trillion Egyptian pounds compared to 485 billion pounds, a growth rate of 147%.

The treasury and capital markets sector continued its fruitful successes, as Attijariwafa bank achieved second place as a major dealer in the fixed-income primary dealers with a market share of 20.7% in Q3 2023.

Attijariwafa bank is targeting to further expand its business in the Egyptian market, apart from targeting three other English-speaking markets in East Africa.

Also, the global cross-border payments network TerraPay, in June 2023, entered into a partnership with Attijariwafa bank to facilitate global money transfers directly to bank accounts in Morocco.

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Yassir, which means ‘easy’ in Arabic, is known for offering on-demand services like ride-hailing, food/grocery delivery, and payments, in six countries and 50 cities. The venture is highly popular in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.

Yassir, as of November 2023, has more than 8 million users and 130,000 service partners, while rapidly expanding in Algeria, Canada, France, Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal and South Africa.

“Three out of five on-demand activities in Algeria, its first market, are made via the platform. The super app, which has 8 million users and 100,000 partners, raised USD 150 million last year, and is moving into banking and payments,” Yassir remarked.

Knowing The Superapp In Detail

Under ‘Yassir Express’, the venture delivers a variety of products, be it food items, electronic devices, cosmetic goods, bakery items, grocery and pet products or toys through a selection of stores and brand chains.

Using the app, the customer can search the store for the product he/she desires to order, choose the goods and fill the product basket, and then issue the order.

‘Yassir Business’ ensures that the client companies undertake professional travels at a lower cost and less effort.

“The trips of your employees are recorded in real time and at the expense of the company without having to present an invoice for each trip,” Yassir explained the service through these words.

Through ‘Yassir Business’, the client businesses no longer need to have a fleet of cars to manage their employees’ journeys. Yassir’s new, clean and comfortable vehicles, accompanied by professional and experienced drivers, will do the heavy lifting.

The solution also enables the businesses to eliminate cash for their employees’ travels, while maintaining a better follow-up and analysis of the transportation costs. In fact, the clients can also exercise their discretion on whether the business journey is needed or not, thereby controlling their expenses further.

“Have visibility and better tracking of personnel transportation costs. Reduce your car fleet costs by digitalizing the process via Yassir Business,” the start-up commented further.

Knowing The Venture’s Partner Network

As mentioned earlier, Yassir operates through a network of ‘Service Partners’. The model operates in a way where the service partners don’t need to report to managers in an office set-up. They become their own bosses.

All these professionals need to do is download the ‘Yassir Chauffeur’ mobile app and enter their personal information and the data on their vehicles. Yassir then contacts these individuals to receive their applications and train them.

The candidates need to submit documents like a vehicle registration card, vehicle inspection card, insurance card, background check record, proof of residency, health certificate, driver’s license and vehicle owner authorization.

And yes, the candidate’s car has to be clean and safe, apart from having the dual airbag (a must). After the inspection, the candidate gets trained on using the Yassir Chauffeur app.

To become a ‘Delivery Partner’, the applicant needs to have prior field experience, apart from possessing a two-wheeler and a driver’s licence. Restaurants too can include themselves in Yassir’s ‘Partner Network’ by filling up an online form, where they need to mention information like their contact details, owner’s name, cuisine they are specialised in etc.

Yassir In News

In August 2023, French football giant Paris Saint-Germain signed a global partnership deal with Yassir, something which will help the start-up to shore up its brand value.

For the three football seasons, North Africa’s largest on-demand services and payments company will benefit from the visibility due to the brand presence PSG has.

“As part of the rights acquired, Yassir will feature on the LEDs in the legendary Parc des Princes stadium and will have the opportunity to address Paris Saint-Germain’s 200 million followers, one of the largest communities in world sport, live on social media in a bid to attract even more customers with its innovative campaigns,” both the signatories informed the media.

Now, in November 2023, Yassir raises USD 150 million in Series B funding from a series of prominent global investors. The investment round was led by BOND, with participation from DN Capital, Dorsal Capital, Quiet Capital, Stanford Alumni Ventures (aka Spike Ventures) and Y Combinator.

Since 2017, the venture has raised USD 193.25 million and now has become the most valuable start-up in North Africa, and one of the highest-valued companies in Africa and the Middle East. Building upon these successes, Yassir now plans to expand its reach into the MENA region further.

The post Start-up of the Week: ‘Young’ Yassir becomes North Africa’s ‘Superapp’ appeared first on International Finance.

Taza Wind Farm is an integral part of the Kingdom of Morocco’s 2009 national energy strategy. The wind farm seeks to increase the Kingdom’s  renewable energy to 42 percent of its installed electricity capacity by 2020, media reports said. It is reported that the project will be financed by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation; Nippon Export and Investment Insurance; Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation; MUFG Bank; and (Moroccan bank) Bank of Africa. 

EDF Group senior executive vice-president of renewable energies and CEO of EDF Renewable, Bruno Bensasson, told the media, “This wind farm demonstrates our commitment to supporting the Kingdom of Morocco’s energy transition. The project first with the goals in the EDF Group’s 2030 CAP strategic plan of doubling its renewable energy capacity worldwide from 28GW to 50GW nets, between 2015 and 2030.” 

It is reported that 500 people will work on the wind farm project during the construction phase. The project is anticipated to contribute to the region’s social and economic development once completed.

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Now operational, Tangier Med overtakes Mediterranean’s largest ports Algeciras and Valencia in terms of container capacity, to become the Mediterranean’s new largest port.

The port had an annual volume of 3.5 million 20-foot equivalent units in 2018.  The volume is expected to reach 4.5 million 20-foot equivalent units by year-end. The new port includes two new container terminals.

Salman Bonaamane, head of Dar Al-Maarif for Research and Statistics told the media that, “The expansion of the Tangier Med will make Morocco a gateway to international investments into the African continent.” “After the expansion of the Tangier Med, the port will bring economic dynamism to the Mediterranean reason.  At the same time, it will also transform the city of Tangier to an industrial zone, “Omar Kettani, an economic expert, told the media.

The port is located about 50 kilometers east of Tangier, the main city in northern Morocco. Tangier Med is a worldwide logistics gateway on the Strait of Gibraltar, connecting 186 ports worldwide across 77 countries. The terminals are operated by APM Terminal, and owned by Denmark’s Maersk, Germany’s Eurogate and a local firm.

The port has also helped establish Morocco on the international maritime scene and help raise its United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) ranking from 83rd to 17th place.

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The high-tech city project is called Tanger Tech Mohammed VI and is expected to cover 7.7 square miles. In an effort to develop the city BMCE Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding in April with China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) and its subsidiary China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC). 

 BMCE Bank is one of Morocco’s largest commercial banks. 

The deal stemmed after China’s Haite withdrew from the Tangier tech city project. lyas El Omari, head of the northern Tangier-Tetouan-Alhoceima region, told Reuters,  “There were disagreements over ownership of the new city among other issues.”

According to National Public Radio, the tech city will also focus on business development, where several companies can develop export products for African and European markets. Moroccan industry minister Moulay Hafid Elalamy told a local media that the first factory would open for business this year. 

The idea to establish Morocco’s high-tech city was made public during Morocco’s King Mohammed VI’s visit to China. The head of states agreed to establish a partnership on the basis of mutual benefits, resulting in bilateral relations. 

According to National Public Radio, Deborah Brautigam, an expert on China’s activity in Africa at Johns Hopkins University, said, “We’ve found in Africa that the [Chinese] companies that are sort of new or inexperienced, they are often the ones that have come with a sort of flashy introduction because they need to get attention. But that doesn’t mean they’re able to follow through.” 

The post Morocco’s high-tech city to attract $10 bn investments; create 100,000 jobs appeared first on International Finance.

More specifically, in the first half of 2018 the sukuk issuance dropped by 15.3% by comparison with the same period last year. The question now confronting the GCC countries is—what this means to this year’s slowdown and the declining demand for funds: It seems the ‘absence of major issuances from the GCC countries seen in 2017’ is the chief reason to conclude in an unexpected decline. S&P Global Ratings Head of Islamic Finance, Dr. Mohamed Damak told Gulf News: “In the second half of 2018, we expect sukuk issuance volumes will continue to be slowed by the global tightening of liquidity conditions as well as by lower financing needs of some GCC countries as a result of oil prices stabilising at higher levels.”

“Overall, we think that the liquidity channelled to the sukuk market from developed markets will reduce and become more expensive.” Along the same lines, ”the US Federal Reserve is expected to hike its federal funds rate by another 50 basis points (bps) in the second half of 2018 after the two increases of the first half, while GCC central banks will probably mirror such an increase due to the fact that their currencies are pegged to the US dollar,” reported Gulf News.

“Currently, European and USbased investors account generally for about one-quarter of sukuk investment in terms of volume. At the same time, muted economic growth and declining lending activity in the GCC has shifted banks’ focus to capital market activities in hopes of achieving higher yields than with cash and money market instruments,” Damak remarked. Indeed, if there is one highlight to be noted from this unforeseen market drop: it is how jumbo issuances of some GCC countries have dominated the market, and, of course, the irksome impact these countries have on sukuk as a result of muting demand for funds. For example: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in particular, raised the highest share of sukuk worth $27 billion, which underpinned last year’s sharp increase in issuance. It shows that a decrease in demand for funds from GCC governments and corporates will hugely affect the ‘jumbo local and foreign currency issuance from the region’.

This brings us to other countries now. In understanding S&P’s global study on sukuk market, Malaysia is no different. In total, S&P expects the country’s volume of issuance to range between $70 billion and $80 billion this year, again in comparison to last year’s value at $97.9 billion. However, analysts say the country will continue to brace its market growth because of the government’s support toward Islamic Finance.

In apparently significant numbers, Islamic Finance is becoming quite popular across Africa because of increase in demand for funds, and investors have slowly become comfortable with Sharia-compliant products, observed Moody’s report. It is understood that Africa’s prominent Muslim population, which is largely underbanked is hoped to better the chance for Islamic banking assets which currently ‘represent less than 5 percent of total African banking assets’.

Nevertheless, “The number and size of Islamic banks in Africa will increase,” Nitish Bhojnagarwala, senior credit officer at Moody’s, said. Although the African banking sector has ‘witnessed an increase in the number of licensed Islamic banks in recent years’, its Islamic bonds constitute only 0.5% of the global sukuk market. Akin Majekodunmi, vice-president and senior credit officer at Moody’s, said: “The desire within Africa for stronger investment links with the fast-growing economies in the Gulf and Asia that have large Muslim populations with large pools of capital will help drive the issuance of sukuk on the continent.” The continent has raised $2.3 billion, since 2014. At a glance, “both sukuk issuance and Islamic banking assets’ are expected ‘to continue to grow quickly in Africa from a low base.”

But this is not it. For now, Moody’s has identified 18 countries with good potential for Islamic Finance growth including Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.

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The government sources from India and Morocco said the project is an initiative backed by World Bank in an effort to establish social equality and boost an all-round growth model in the society. The overall implementation is in the best interest of margainalised communities to improve their living conditions.

“I view the new initiative to set up a ‘consolidated social register’ as a promising start for the gradual improvement of social welfare programs over the short and medium terms.

This is a national registration system to identify families that truly deserve to benefit from social assistance programs,” King Mohammed VI of Morocco said. The King added that the new technology would be implemented to cater to the needs of the underprivileged in the Moroccon society.

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“The opportunities opening out in the international water sector are driving year’s Global Water Summit Paris to be the biggest yet,” commented Christopher Gasson, Publisher at Global Water Intelligence (GWI) the co-organiser of the conference. “With more than US$150bn of investments in desalination, water distribution, wastewater treatment under discussion and a full slate of industrial water users attending the event, registrations are 10% up on last year’s blockbuster event in Madrid.”

The summit will host a ‘blended finance’ workshop in partnership with the World Bank, aimed at developing structures that bring together public and private resources to deliver water infrastructure projects in emerging markets.

Forming part of the summit’s finance agenda strand, the blended finance session will bring together representatives of development finance institutions with top performing utility leaders and government officials from Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, as they plan to use their access to low cost finance to mobilise private investment in infrastructure on an unprecedented scale. The session will explore how the water sector should proceed in developing structures that bring together public and private resources to deliver water infrastructure projects in emerging markets.

The Global Water Summit will also feature round tables hosted by officials and finance institution representatives, providing insights on private sector opportunities in several key regions with major infrastructure spending plans including the USA, Argentina, Morocco, Oman, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Iran, Nigeria, and India. Together these national spending plans represent $100 billion of water infrastructure investment.

The 2018 summit will be preceded by a pre-conference workshop on the privatisation of Saudi Arabia’s water sector, held on 15th April 2018 in partnership with The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA), the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC), the National Water Company (NWC) and the Water and Electricity Company.

The officials from the four Saudi organisations will be hosting the workshop in a bid to outline the kingdom’s £60 billion investment opportunity, and to identify and attract top-performing potential partners for their investment plans at the earliest stage of the privatisation process.

Emerging opportunities for the desalination market will also form part of The Global Water Summit agenda, with over five million m3/d of new desalination capacity being presented in Paris.

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Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) is a prominent body in establishing standards for Islamic Banking. In December, the Central Bank became an associate member of IFSB, according to The Standard.

Governor Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile in a speech at Uganda Bankers’ Association said the Bank will encourage applications from financial institutions to offer sharia-compliant products.

Countries such as Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia hold a minority of Muslim population, and yet, are focused on expanding the sector with proper financial access. In recent years, Nigeria, Morocco and Senegal were inclined towards interest-free banking. Now Uganda has joined the list to develop the Islamic Banking sector in Africa.

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