MNT-Halan shares jump 6.6% in debut after Egypt's biggest IPO since 2021

what happened

Shares of the Egyptian lending and payments company MNT-Halan rose roughly 6.6% on Tuesday, their first day on the exchange. The offer priced shares at 24.50 Egyptian pounds, and the stock finished the session near 26.12 pounds. That values the local business at close to 42 billion pounds, or $770 million, according to Reuters.

EFG Hermes, which advised on the offering, says the deal is the largest listing in Egypt by dollar value since 2021. MNT-Halan is frequently called the country's first fintech unicorn, a label tied to the valuation of its parent, which also runs operations abroad. The sale covered 320 million shares, or 20% of the Egyptian arm.

The listing went ahead amid a tense regional backdrop after the US-Israeli war with Iran, which pushed global energy prices sharply higher. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has asked parliament to let the armed forces defend Saudi Arabia against Houthi attacks, with a vote expected next week. CEO Mounir Nakhla linked investor interest to the solid foundations of the market and the company.

why it matters

The debut signals investor appetite for Egyptian equities and fintech despite geopolitical strain in the region. Energy-driven volatility tends to heighten frontier markets' sensitivity to external shocks, so the modest first-day gain says more about demand for this particular stock than about a broad market move.

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