32 Egyptian state companies to be floated on EGX over a year: PM

CAIRO – 8 February 2023: A total of 32 companies will be floated on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) over a year, said Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli in a press conference following a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

Offering companies on the stock exchange will be through a public offering or by selling a share to for strategic investors, the prime minister clarified, noting that the offering of the current 32 companies will extend from the first quarter of this year until the first quarter of 2024.

At least a quarter of the 32 companies (eight companies) will be offered in the first 6 months, Madbouli said.

The offering includes 18 economic sectors and activities in accordance with the state ownership policy document, Madbouli said.

Madbouli said that 3 banks will be offered including Banque du Caire, The United Bank, and the Arab African International Bank, in coordination with the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).

Two companies affiliated with the National Service Products Organization (NSPO): Safi and Wataniya will be also offered among the government offering program, Madbouli added.

The companies also include Helwan Fertilizers Company, the Egyptian Propylene and Polypropylene Company, El-Nasr Mining, the Egyptian Ethylene and Derivatives Company (ETHYDCO), the Egyptian Drilling Company, the Egyptian Linear Alkyl Benzene Company (ELAB), and Sinai Manganese Company.

Other companies also include Mooring and Lights Company, Port Said Container & Cargo Handling (PSCCHC), Damietta Container & Cargo Handling Company, Salhia Investment & Development Company, as well as the hotels owned by the Ministry of Public Business Sector.

This is in addition Misr Life Insurance, Misr Insurance, Gabal El Zeit wind farm, Zafarana Wind Farm, Beni Suef power plant, Chemical Industries Development (CID), Pachin Paints, Al-Amal Al-Sharif for plastics, and Misr Pharma.

The government expects other companies to be offered on the stock exchange following the 32 companies, Madbouli affirmed.

Today’s announcement comes two months after President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi approved in December the State Ownership Policy Document, which focuses on maximizing the role of the private sector and determines sectors in which the government will reduce its participation.

As per the document, the government will also shift from the management of state institutions to the management of state capital by defining the mechanisms for the state’s withdrawal from the assets owned by the state, Madbouli said last year.

The implementation of the document aims at achieving financial savings that enable support for the general budget, achieving financial discipline, and ensure financial sustainability, Madbouli noted.

The document also aims to enhance the state's financial capacity to support social protection networks and protect the vulnerable groups in order to increase the levels of resilience of the Egyptian economy in the face of the crises, he stressed.