Emaar IPO flop dashes Egypt's hopes of property market turnaround

Cairo

THE Emaar Properties banners adorning the facade of the Cairo Stock Exchange radiated confidence as shares started trading in Egypt's biggest initial public offering since the 2011 Arab Spring. Three weeks and a 7.4 per cent decline later, investors are lining up to get out.

Egypt needed the IPO of Emaar Properties PJSC's local unit to be a winner to rebuild investor confidence in its property market after mega-projects feted by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi stalled. About a month before the company's stock-market debut on July 5, the exchange changed its rules to allow newly listed companies like the luxury-home builder to join its benchmark index.