Egypt has held a long-awaited international tender for the refurbishment of the country's largest public companies, Egyptian Iron and Steel Company (HADISOLB), the company announced Monday. Submission of bids will be until July 18th, 2017, HADISOLB added. HADISOLB refurbishment plan includes a financial reform by increasing its capital through loans or current shareholders, and technical restructuring to outline the company's upgrading production needs. Egyptian Minister of Public Sector Affairs Ashraf El-Sharkawy said earlier that the government had completed the first phase of HADISOLB's financial restructuring process by increasing its capital on April 11th. "2017 will be the year of restructuring the country's iron and steel as well as textile and spinning sectors." El-Sharkawy added. HADISOLB, which was founded in the 1950s, for decades was considered the crown jewel of Egyptian heavy industry. In the 1990s, however, the industry was opened to the private sector which gradually built up a controlling share of the market, and whose firms proved more efficient than HADISOLB. Moreover, years of mismanagement crippled the company's performance and left behind huge financial problems.
