The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE) is gearing up for new sales of state-owned companies in 1Q 2024, SFE chief Ayman Soliman told CNN Business Arabia on the sidelines of COP28 in Dubai. The privatization program will expand to include companies working in the infrastructure and financial services sectors, he said. Soliman didn’t disclose which companies could be offered to investors.

REMEMBER-

  • There are 35 companies and assets currently on the privatization list, three of which have already sold stakes to private investors: Eastern Company, Telecom Egypt, and Al Ezz Dekheila.
  • The three transactions have brought in around USD 1 bn, though only the Eastern sale was paid in FX.
  • The government said in August it is aiming to raise USD 5 bn from the offering program between October and June 2024.
  • The SFE aims to finish by the year’s end the sale of a stake in a group of historic hotels that includes the Cairo Marriott, Marriott Mena House, the Winter Palace, and the Cecil.
  • A stake in filling station operator Wataniya is also on offer.

WAIT, JUST THREE? It turns out those Elab, Ethyco, and EDC stake sales haven’t been finalized: ADQ’s USD 800 mn acquisition of stakes in the three oil and petrochemical companies hasn’t been completed, Soliman told the news outlet, refuting a recent report in the local press. The sales will be wrapped up before the end of the year, he said. The government had initially hoped to sign the final contracts by the end of September.

What they’re buying: ADQ is in the process of acquiring a 35% stake of Egyptian Linear Alkyl Benzene (Elab), 30% in the Egyptian Ethylene and Derivatives Company (Ethydco), and 25% in Egyptian Drilling Company (EDC).

RACE FOR MUBARAK HQ- The SFE is set to finalize before the end of the year a contract with a consortium that will be in charge of developing the site of the former National Democratic Party (NDP) headquarters in Downtown Cairo, Soliman said. The fund has already decided which consortium is getting the contract and will make an announcement when the paperwork is signed.

Expect to see Gulf names involved: Several news outlets have reported that Gulf contractors are in line for the contract, including Al Manassa, which quoted Elhamy El Zayat, chairman of the SFE’s tourism sub-fund, as saying that Emirati investors are involved. Asharq Business has also reported that Saudi Egyptian Developers and the UAE’s Al Shafar General Contracting Group (ASGC) will bag the contract.

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