Egypt Sells State Assets worth $1.9 Billion
In a bid to reduce fiscal pressures, Egypt has signed contracts to sell stakes in state assets worth a total of $1.9 billion as part of a programme to boost the private sector and raise scarce hard currency.
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said the stake sales are seen as crucial to Egypt’s chances of easing prolonged pressure on the Egyptian pound, attracting foreign currency, and launching economic reforms under a $3 billion IMF loan programme.
Of the $1.9 billion, $1.65 billion would be paid in foreign currency, Madbouly said.
The government had a target of raising $2 billion from stake sales by the end of June, but its efforts faced delays in recent months, driving down the value of the pound on the parallel market.
The pound has lost about half its value against the dollar since early last year at the official exchange rate and inflation is at record highs.
The new contracts include a deal to sell minority stakes in three oil and petrochemical sector companies to Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ for $800 million, an agreement to raise $700 million by offering capital in a portfolio of hotels, and a deal for a 31% stake in Ezz Dekheila IRAX steel company worth $241 million, said Planning Minister Hala el-Said.
“These are all done and binding,” Said told Reuters after a press conference attended by senior members of the cabinet. She said that the stake in the hotels, including historic properties in Cairo, Alexandria and Luxor, was awarded to ICON, the hospitality arm of Egyptian real estate group Talaat Mostafa TMGH.
The government is about one-quarter through a list of 32 state companies that it announced it would sell stakes in, and is preparing stake sales in other companies for later, said Madbouly.
He added that Egypt expects to increase its annual inflow of hard currency by $70 billion per year to reach $191 billion by 2026.
The government expects to complete transactions in the next few months including a more than $300 million deal for the Gabal El Zeit wind farm, and sales in military-owned Wataniya Petroleum and a power plant built by Siemens ENR, Said told reporters. #Egypt Sells State Assets worth $1.9 Billion
The government expects to complete transactions in the next few months including a more than $300 million deal for the Gabal El Zeit wind farm, and sales in military-owned Wataniya Petroleum and a power plant built by Siemens ENR, Said told reporters. #Egypt Sells State Assets worth $1.9 Billion
The government expects to complete transactions in the next few months including a more than $300 million deal for the Gabal El Zeit wind farm, and sales in military-owned Wataniya Petroleum and a power plant built by Siemens ENR, Said told reporters. #Egypt Sells State Assets worth $1.9 Billion Naira Steadies as Banks Issue Update on FX Purchase
