Stakes in 32 state-owned companies will be sold to strategics, public investors by Q1-2023

Egypt will be selling stakes in 32 state-owned companies through offering on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) or selling to strategic investors within a year, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced on Wednesday.

In a press conference yesterday (watch, runtime: 16:22), Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said that the state will offer shares in the companies to strategic investors, via offerings on the EGX and a mix of both over the next 13 months.

That’s 12 more than last week: In an address last week, the prime minister said that at least 20 companies will be named as part of the state offering program.

The first sales of the programme to take place in the next seven weeks:

The ambitious programme will begin during the current quarter and continue through to the end of 1Q 2024, Madbouly said. The government aims to complete at least 25% of the share sales within the first six months of the program, he said.

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