The negative financial impact of the company's decision is expected at SAR 38 million ($9.81 million), according to the Saudi Stock Exchange Tadawul.

In December 2021, eXtra's board approved the establishment of a subsidiary in Egypt, which was the company's first expansion outside the Saudi market.

The company was planning to inject EGP 1 billion of direct investments into the Egyptian market to be funded through internal cash flows and loans.

The expansion was aimed at strengthening the company's regional footprint and supporting its strategy to diversify sources of income and maximise profit.

Egypt has recently taken concrete steps to increase the opportunities it offers for strategic investors or under the government’s initial public offering (IPO) programme, through which 32 state-owned companies are promoted to be tapped.

Egypt is currently under an IMF-backed loan deal, worth $3 billion. The first review of the loan programme was pushed till the end of June instead of the scheduled 15 March as the fund needs more reforms to be applied, particularly in regard to the privatisation programme.