EBRD eyeing 25% shares of Egypt's upcoming public banks' IPOs

CAIRO – 1 March 2018: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) would be interested in buying a stake in state-owned banks if the government decides to privatize the state owned banks, the Managing Director for the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) region at EBRD Janet Heckman.

On Monday, Deputy Minister of Finance for Financial Policies Ahmed Kojak stated that the government will publish a timetable of the governmental IPOs in the Egyptian Exchange next week.

Heckman added in an interview with Egypt Today, that EBRD‘s equity stakes generally don’t exceed 25 percent.

Heckman affirmed that this step will encourage foreign investors' confidence in the Egyptian economy.

She also stressed that the new investments to be made in 2018 are likely to exceed Eur 1 billion.

EBRD has already signed beginning this year2 projects for approximately Eur 85 million, according to Heckman.

In 2016, the government launched an IPO program that offers shares in several state-owned companies over the next three to five years in fields such as petroleum, services, chemicals and real estate to help boost state finances.

The Initial Public Offerings program is conducted under the supervision of the Ministry of Investment.

It covers a period of three to five years, aiming to offer partial stakes in some state-owned companies on the Stock Exchange. It will serve as a main tool to attract local and foreign capital flows to Egypt.