Public sector companies record profit of LE 8B in 9 months

CAIRO – 23 May 2018: Public sector companies recorded a total profit of LE 8 billion ($445 million) during the first nine months of 2018, Minister of Public Enterprises Khaled Badwi said.

Assembling companies

The minister said during a sohour ceremony of the Egyptian Association for Direct Investment that companies with similar activities in the sector will be combined together as such: medical, construction and tourism companies.

He added that all automotive feeder companies will be assembled under the Holding for Maritime and Land Transport, clarifying that this step is not considered to be a merger but only to be assembled under one entity that manages the entire system in the automotive feeder industries.

IPO program

Egypt’s initial public offering (IPO) program is being turned into action quickly and is expected to start offering next month, the minister said.

The minister considers the IPO program as a step for the growth of the economy, as it let the private sector manage the companies even with a governmental stake in them.

He added that Engineering for Petroleum and Process Industries (Enppi) will be the first to be floated with 15-30 percent.

“We started a quick connection and negotiations with the IPO’s advisor, NI Capital, and the Ministry of Finance, as most of the general assemblies of the companies agreed upon the offering, and the final approval will be ready by the end of the month,” Badwi said.

In 2016, Egypt launched the government’s IPO program to offer shares over three to five years in several state-owned companies in fields such as petroleum, services, chemicals and real estate.

The program will serve as a main tool to attract local and foreign capital flows to Egypt in order to help boost state finances.

Privatization

Regarding privatization, the minister said there are seven problems of 250 companies, and the ministry has already worked out three of them and is working on the rest to be solved by the end of the year.

On the incorporation of companies’ assets into the sovereign fund, Badawi said only the unutilized assets and some land would be included, because the assets of the companies by virtue of Law No. 203 are considered to be as private money.

In April 2018, Planning Minister Hala el-Saeed announced the government’s approval of a draft law to establish a sovereign wealth fund to manage state assets.

The fund aims to manage and make use of the state’s assets with a capital of LE 200 billion.

Companies’ debts

The total debt of public sector companies to gas and electricity organizations reached LE 15 billion, and they will be paid at intervals of three to five years, after a down payment of 25 percent for electricity and 10 percent for gas, where adjustments will be through holding companies.

In general, the total debt of the public sector companies to all parties amounts to LE 45 billion, of which LE 8 billion is for spinning and textile companies and about LE 21 billion for the National Investment Bank.

Returning companies to public sector

Regarding returning companies to the public sector, Badwi said that the debt of Omar Afandi has been adjusted by $35 million for International Finance Corporation.

He added that Chemical Holding Company approved to end the dispute of Steam Boilers Company, clarifying that the value of the settlement is $89 million at the old price of LE 7.7, ranging from LE 500 to LE 600 million, in exchange for settlements with taxes and the new urban communities authority belonging to the former owner of the company and Bank Faisal.

The board of directors of El Nasr Housing and Development Company and the general assembly approved the settlement and gave up the international arbitration in exchange for LE 100 million.