FILE – EGX
CAIRO – 9 August 2019: Minister of Finance Mohamed Ma’it denied Monday postponing offering public companies in the Egyptian Exchange (EGX).
Ma’it added on the sidelines of the Euromoney conference that floating public companies in the bourse may happen at any time.
He pointed out that the offerings are based on a previous study prepared on the basis of several criteria and determinants, stressing that offering operations is not an easy decision.
Earlier, Minister of Public Business Sector Hisham Tawfik told Enterprise that any initial public offering within the second phase of the government offering program has been postponed until January 2020, after it was scheduled for September.
"Some measures have taken more time and we will not be able to float companies for the first time until the end of the fourth quarter of this year," he said.
The second phase includes 10 companies, containing eight mining and industrial companies, in addition to e-finance and Banque du Caire.
By the end of February, Egypt floated a stake of Eastern Company on EGX, and the public and private offerings on the course were completed Wednesday, March 6, with a total value of LE 1.72 billion.
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.
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