Cabinet of Egypt
Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced that 32 Egyptian state companies will be listed on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) and also sold for strategic investors within a year.
In a press conference held following the weekly Cabinet meeting, Madbouly revealed that the 32 Egyptian state companies will either be listed on the EGX or sold for strategic investors within a year which starts with the current quarter and lasts till the first quarter of 2024 in accordance with the State Ownership document.
Egypt to initiate IPO programme under IMF-backed loan deal in March: Source
These companies work in 18 different fields. According to Madbouly, the government will list 25 percent of these companies within 6 months.
These companies include two-military owned companies: water company Safy and petrol stations operator Wataniya.
The list also includes three banks which are Banque Du Caire, The United Bank and The Arab African Bank.
There are also several companies working in the field of energy, insurance and petrochemicals.
The premier stressed that floating the companies is one of the strategic goals under the State Ownership Policy Document.
The document, approved by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in December, charts a roadmap to determine the state’s presence in economic activities and enhance the private sector’s participation in public investments.
The ownership document states that Egypt seeks to raise the role of the private sector in the country’s economic activities from 30 percent at present to 65 percent within three years.
Boosting the role of the private sector in growth in parallel with reducing the size of the state’s footprint in the economy was one of the country’s commitments and targets under the $3 billion 46-month loan approved by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Egypt offered the first state-owned company, tobacco monopoly Eastern Company, on the EGX under the IPO (Initial Public Offering) programme in March 2019.
The national plan to float state companies dates back to 2018 when Egypt announced the names of 23 state companies whose stakes will be offered, including Banque Du Caire and Middle East Oil Refining (MIDOR). However, the plan was delayed due to the consequent global crises.