Egypt to Test Market in April With Stake Sale, May Add New Names

Fahad Abuljadayel and Mirette Magdy
·2 min read

(Bloomberg) -- Egypt is considering further expanding the list of state-owned companies it will offer to investors, with some to be pitched to the market in April as the cash-strapped nation finally moves ahead with an ambitious plan to revamp the economy.

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Egypt said last month that it will offer stakes in 32 firms over a year. But that number could grow to 40, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said on the sidelines of the Financial Sector Conference in Riyadh.

“The implementation has already started and some of these assets are going to the market next month,” he said.

The sales — either in the form of public offerings, block sales to strategic investors, or a combination of the two — are a key part of a program the government has launched to help shore up an economy battered by the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Read: Egypt Looks to Begin Offering of Military Firms This Week

Officials have already devalued the currency three times in the past year, moves that helped secure a $3 billion International Monetary Fund loan. They’re also hoping for additional investments from Egypt’s Gulf Arab allies, though little of the funds pledged from those nations has materialized.

The list of 32 companies announced before is a preliminary one, and comprised three banks, as well as insurance companies and hotels, among others.

Maait said a total of five banks, including Alex Bank, could be offered and that the government expects to net “billions of dollars in the coming year” from the sale of the companies.

Read: Telecom Egypt, Vodafone Stakes Both on Table as State Seeks Cash

The government has already begun moving forward on the sales.

Officials said earlier this week that they are starting the process of offering fuel distributor Wataniya and water-bottler Safi to investors. Both are military-affiliated firms.

Authorities are also looking at offering a stake in state-run Telecom Egypt.

An international adviser to help the government with the potential sales could be selected “very soon,” Maait said.

--With assistance from Abeer Abu Omar and Zainab Fattah.

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