CAIRO: Egypt is preparing to offer 20 percent of state-owned airline EgyptAir to the public, in the latest big-ticket privatization in the government s drive to sell off state assets. "The shares will be offered as soon as the study is complete, Civil Aviation Minister Ahmed Shafiq said, in comments reported by the official Middle East News Agency. The remaining 80 percent of EgyptAir Holding Company would stay in government hands to ensure loans for new planes would still get state backing, he said. The minister did not give a timeframe for the sale or give any indication of a value for the carrier. EgyptAir Holding Company has several subsidiaries, including the national carrier and associated aviation service companies. The cabinet, appointed in 2004 with a mandate to liberalize the economy, has revived a privatization program which had slowed almost to a halt. Egypt has sold a 20 percent stake in the state fixed-line monopoly Telecom Egypt and is seeking to sell Bank of Alexandria, one of the country s main state banks. The government has also sold stakes in commercial banks and offered many smaller firms for sale. EgyptAir said in December it was planning to buy 12 new passenger planes to increase its fleet to 64 by 2010 and was studying ways to finance the purchase. It is currently in the process of increasing its fleet to 52 aircraft, a process which the Middle East News Agency said would be completed in 18 months. Reuters
