PM reveals details on revived IPO program, state will sell stakes in 32 companies

Egypt released the details of the long-awaited revival of its privatization program, with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly revealing that the government will sell stakes in 32 state-owned companies over the next 13 months.

The program, which was paused due to turbulent global economic conditions, is being rebooted as part of efforts to help the government secure more foreign currency, the new State Ownership Policy – also part of the privatization condition set by the IMF for its $3 billion loan.

Starting from Q1 of 2023, Egypt will hold initial public offerings (IPOs) for 32 state-owned companies to strategic investors via offerings on the EGX and a mix of both.

Hala El Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, previously stated that "There is a lot of appetite [for] the Egyptian economy. I think, definitely, the stock market is at its best now".

The PM did not share how much of the stakes will be sold to strategic investors – on average, strategic investors look to acquire a majority stake. Madbouly told Bloomberg separately that the government doesn’t have a target value for the sales.

The PM revealed that the IPOs will include companies from 18 sectors, selling stakes in companies within sectors such as banking, insurance, construction, energy, tourism, oil, energy, and petrochemicals.

Some of the leading banking offerings will be Banque du Caire, United Bank of Egypt, and Arab African International Bank.

At least 25% of the announced state companies will be listed during the coming six months. More companies are expected to follow next year to the end of Q1 2024, the PM explained.

The cabinet did not disclose which companies will see stakes sold directly to strategic investors and which will be listed on the Egyptian Exchange.

Madbouly said that the decisions on which way to go have been made by the investment banks working on the transactions, but didn’t provide any further information.