Offering public companies’ shares revives EGX: Farid

CAIRO – 18 March 2019: Offering shares of a number of public companies on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) is important to revive the market, Chairman of EGX Mohamed Farid said.

In a conference at the American Chamber, Farid added that the delay of listing the shares is not related to the bourse but to the companies themselves and their vision about the timing and the importance of the offering to reflect positively on them.

The chairman of EGX hoped for the completion of the companies' offerings on different sectors on EGX.

By the end of February, Egypt floated a stake of Eastern Company on EGX, and the public and private offerings on the bourse were completed Wednesday, March 6, with a total value of LE 1.72 billion.

Meanwhile, Minister of Petroleum Tarek el-Molla told local media earlier that Egypt is expected to float a stake of Oil Company Engineering for Petroleum and Process Industries (ENPPI) on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) in the first half of 2019, or before the Holy month of Ramadan.

In 2018, Egypt delayed listing shares of state-owned companies on the Egyptian Exchange, such as the 4.5 percent stake of Eastern Company slated for October. The government attributed the delay to volatility in the global market, noting that if the shares had been floated, they would have failed to be covered at proper valuation.

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

As part of the economic reform program, the government targets offering 15-30 percent of stakes in state-owned companies on the stock exchange (EGX) to increase funding to Egyptian companies, maximize the benefit from state assets, and attract local and foreign capital flows to Egypt.