FILE - Minister of Finance Mohamed Ma'it
CAIRO – 3 December 2018: Minister of Finance Mohamed Ma’it announced that Egypt will receive the fifth tranche of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) loan in December and expected an international issuance of bonds during the first quarter of 2019.
Ma’it clarified that the issuance might be in dollar, euro or any other currency, if possible.
He added in the fifth CEOs Thoughts conference that the ministry holds promotional tours for bonds in East Asia, within the framework of the efforts to have diverse markets, currency and timing.
The minister also referred to the ministry’s earlier euro and dollar-dominated bond issuance in April and February of 2017, respectively, adding that the ministry can issue bonds in more than one currency.
As per IMF’s loan, the total disbursements under the program will reach about $10 billion by receiving the fifth installment.
The minister noted that IMF’s Executive Board will review Egypt’s economic reform program and offer Egypt the fifth settlement of the IMF’s $12 billion extended fund facility arrangement, amounting to $2 billion.
He added that the economic reform program is on track and is praised by international organizations, international investment world, and credit rating agencies.
Ma’it announced earlier that Egypt didn’t ask for an additional fund from the IMF.
The final disbursement, amounting to $2 billion, is expected to be offered to Egypt in June or July 2019, after spring meetings of the World Bank and IMF which will be held in April.
Furthermore, Ma’it said that about LE 1.2 billion have been transferred from the treasury to the Export Development fund.
The minister affirmed the readiness of the IPO of governmental companies on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) in case they meet the prime minister’s requirements.
Egypt delayed listing some shares of state-owned companies on the Egyptian Exchange, as it should have listed about 4.5 percent of Eastern Company in October.
The government attributed the delay to the global market volatility, noting that if the shares were floated, it would have failed to be covered at proper valuation.
In 2016, Egypt announced the launch of 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 state’s IPO program comes in light of the economic reform program adopted by Egypt and is conducted under the supervision of the Ministry of Investment.
It targets to offer 15-30 percent of stakes of some state-owned companies on the stock exchange (EGX) to increase the funding to Egyptian companies and maximize the benefit from state assets.
It will also serve as a main tool to attract local and foreign capital flows to Egypt.
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