Egypt has delayed its push to offer more of its state-owned companies on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX), with Public Enterprise Minister Hisham Tawfik telling Reuters that the delay will last until after summer vacation.

During the annual Iftar ceremony “the Egyptian Family Iftar” that happened before Eid vacation, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi pushed for more state and military-owned entities to go public on the exchange.

On the same note, Minister of Planning and Economic development, Dr. Hala El Said declared that the state was aiming to list state-owned companies every month or two back in January as part of reviving the privatization program.

Tawfik did not release further details on which companies are planned to be listed.

The state originally planned to offer between 4 to 6 companies by the end of the current fiscal year, ending in June, with an aim of up to 10 by the end of 2022 prior to the start of the Russia/Ukraine conflict.

Two military-owned companies are expected to go public this year; bottled-water maker Safi and Wataniya, which are already in the process of preparing for its IPO according to Sovereign Fund of Egypt chief Ayman Soliman last month.

The government has been looking into offer stakes in state and military-owned companies for years under the privatization program, however have run into several roadblocks from 2018’s global stock-market dive to the recent pandemic, and now the Russia/Ukraine conflict.