Egypt will start offering shares in state companies on the country’s stock exchange starting from September, Public Enterprise Minister Hisham Tawfik told Reuters on Saturday.
Egypt had hoped to sell shares in as many as 10 state-owned companies on the EGX in 2022, before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine upended the global economy.
Officials were previously set to resume the revived privatization program in March as part of plans to list “as many state companies as possible” this year.
The plans would have seen the government selling stakes in state-owned companies every month or two, according to statements by Planning Minister Hala El Saeed earlier this year.
Could this also include military-owned firms?
The minister’s statements come days after President Abdel Fattah El Sisi directed the government to list military-owned firms on the EGX by the end of this year.
Bets are on bottled-water maker Safi and filling station operator Wataniya, which are currently being prepared for public or private offerings before the summer, Sovereign Fund of Egypt chief Ayman Soliman said last month.
