Egypt aims to raise up to $6 billion by selling stakes in state-owned companies by June of next year, according to Planning Minister Hala El-Said. This comes at a time when the government is attempting to support the economy that has been harmed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
El-Said stated that the first tranche of the offerings, worth 2.5 to 3 billion dollars, will be announced within four weeks, followed by a second tranche of roughly the same value.
The program may include selling consolidated shares to strategic investors or offering shares to the public with the support of the country’s sovereign fund, she noted, without revealing the potential buyers.
Egypt is seeking to attract more foreign direct investment (FDI) while also negotiating a new loan with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after its economy was hit hard by high import bills for food and fuel as a result of the Ukraine conflict. Since March, the local debt market has seen a $22 billion outflow of funds.
In recent months, the Abu Dhabi sovereign fund (ADQ), along with a unit of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), invested around $3 billion in deals facilitated by the Egyptian sovereign fund to acquire government stakes in prominent companies.
