Analysts name potentially successful areas for government IPOs

The Egyptian government is preparing to offer 20 state-run companies, whether through a public offering or selling a share to a strategic investor, with the aim of increasing the participation of the private sector in the Egyptian economy to 65% over the coming three years.

At the end of last year, the state adopted the “State Ownership Policy Document” to allow more room for private sector participation in generating economic growth and increasing levels of investments and exports.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said that the government will announce, after its meeting next week, the timetable for offering stakes in more than 20 companies owned by it for the first time on the Egyptian Exchange.

Madbouly added that the timetable for offerings will be for about a full year, provided that the main objective of offering operations is to expand the ownership base, increase capital, restructure and expand through individual and institutional investors, stressing that the offerings will be a mixture between offering on the stock exchange and strategic investors.

He mentioned in a press conference on Thursday that a number of companies that will be offered will be ready within a period of three months, some of them will need five months, and others by the end of the year, according to the circumstances of each company, but the companies that will be announced within a general time period will have been offered.

He added that the twenty companies will be offered for the first time, and will be a mixture of offerings on the stock exchange or for a strategic investor through the state ownership policy document.

Yasser Al-Masry, Managing Director of the Arab African International Securities, said that the market is ready to receive a number of government offerings, not all of the number expected to be offered, pointing out that the success of the first offering will give impetus to the next offering, and so on, explaining that the completion of the program will depend on the success of each offering.