One stake sale is being lined up as another is delayed: The government is looking to offload a stake in the military’s Chill Out fuel retailer, Planning Minister Hala El Said told Asharq Business on the sidelines of COP28. The company is owned by the National Service Projects Organization (NSPO) via its National Roads Company subsidiary, and would become the second military-owned fuel retailer to sell shares to private investors after Wataniya, which is also owned by the NSPO. El Said didn’t share any details regarding the timeline or percentage of the stake sale.

The plan: The government will begin restructuring the company ahead of the stake sale, she said. The process will begin after the government concludes the sale of Wataniya under its privatization program.

Speaking of which: Wataniya stake sale delayed. We were expecting the government to finalize the sale later this month but according to El Said the transaction will take several more weeks to close. The minister didn’t explain the reasons behind the delay.

Background: The government and the Sovereign Fund of Egypt have been working on the sale of the fuel retailer for the past three years. It’s unclear how much of the company will be sold though SFE CEO Ayman Soliman has said that 100% of the firm could potentially be sold off. Taqa Arabia is the only company to have publicly declared interest in the company’s assets, though a number of other firms have been rumored to be lodging bids, including Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and Shell. The NSPO acquired a 20% stake in Taqa earlier this year.

The NSPO will launch a new line of filling stations under the brand A1 before the end of the year.

Remember: The government rebooted its privatization program earlier this year, naming 35 companies that will sell stakes to private investors as part of the government’s efforts to end the ongoing currency crisis and meet the terms of its USD 3 bn loan program with the IMF.

ALSO- A date for the hotels company stake sale:The government plans to complete the sale of a stake in a group of historic hotels before the end of the year, El Said said, echoing statements made by Soliman last month. She didn’t provide further details.

Background: The Planning Ministry said in July it had agreed to sell a 37% stake in the government’s hotels holding company to a group that includes a unit of EGX-listed hotel and real estate player TMG and unnamed foreign investors for USD 700 mn. An unconfirmed report last month claimed that the consortium will increase its stake to 51%.

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