After 20 years of false starts, pandemics and wars, Egypt has finally pulled off its largest stock market float ever. And it’s worth over $650 million.

So, Egypt just made serious money and sent a very loud message to investors.

As reported by cbinews.tv, the state has raised more than $650 million from the initial public offering of Banque du Caire, one of its oldest high-street banks.

Here’s the deal: Parent bank Banque Misr sold 6.86 billion shares- that’s 45% of the bank- at 5.30 Egyptian pounds a share. That’s about 36.37 billion pounds, or $658 million, valuing the lender at roughly $1.46 billion. It’s officially the biggest IPO ever on the Egyptian Exchange.

And investors piled in. The private placement was six times oversubscribed, with global heavyweights like the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) leading the charge. The EBRD alone put in $100m for a 6.9% stake.

Banque du Caire isn’t just any bank. Founded in 1952, it’s Egypt’s third-largest state-owned bank, with branches on almost every corner, the bank where shopkeepers, farmers and civil servants have queued for generations.

Now, its chief executive Hussein Abaza says, “This is an IPO that's been more than 20 years on and off”, blocked first by Covid, then by the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

This is all tied to Egypt’s $8bn IMF programme. The IMF wants Egypt to shrink the state and let the private sector breathe. The government promised to sell stakes in over 30 state-owned companies to raise cash and restore confidence. This IPO is the centrepiece.

Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly called it a sign of commitment to “unlocking greater value from public assets” despite regional tensions.

Historical context: Egypt tried to privatise Banque du Caire back in 2008 and again in 2019, but every attempt collapsed. For many Egyptians, state banks felt untouchable. This sale breaks that taboo.

This is just the start. Egypt still needs to raise close to $1 billion more to hit its $1.5bn divestment target before its IMF programme expires on 15 December. In June, four more state companies got preliminary listing approvals for floats by May 2027.

If this float holds up on the market, it’s a green light for the rest, more jobs, more foreign currency, and a signal that Egypt is, in Abaza’s words, “serious about privatisation.”

For cbinews.tv — it’s not just a bank sale; it’s Egypt betting its economic future on the market.

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