Three state-owned companies are ready to offer stakes on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX), Minister of Public Enterprise Sector Hesham Tawfik said on Tuesday. The exact timing of the offering will be decided by the investment banks in charge of managing it, he explained. The three companies are Heliopolis Company For Housing and Development (HHD), Alexandria Container & Cargo Handling Company, and Abu Qir Fertilizers. Tawfik revealed that 22% to 25% stake in HHD will be offered on EGX in the first quarter of 2020. Earlier, Tawfik told Daily News Egypt, that the authorities target EGP 16bn from the Abu Qir Fertilizers, and Alexandria Containers stake offering In 2018, the government announced the first phase of the government's IPO programme, involving 23 state-owned companies and banks. However, only 4.7% stake of Eastern Company was offered in March, with a total value of EGP 1.72bn. Earlier in November, Central Bank of Egypt's Governor Tarek Amer said that Banque du Caire will go ahead with its anticipated IPO in the first quarter of next year, between 30 and 40% of the bank to be offered on EGX. The cumulative value of the programme's listings is expected to rise to EGP 80bn, raising the collective market capitalisation to EGP 450bn. The last public offering of state-owned companies – before Eastern Company – was in 2005 when shares of Telecom Egypt, AMOC and Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals Company were sold.
