The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources provided a list of five companies to the Ministry of Investment and NI Capital—a subsidiary of the National Investment Bank and manager of the propositions programme—to begin procedures for offering the companies on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX).
Minister of Petroleum Tarek El Molla told Daily News Egypt that the five companies are Misr Oil Processing and Fertilisers Company (MOPCO), Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals Company (Sidpec), the Egyptian Ethylene and Derivatives Company (ETHYDCO), Alexandria Minerals Oil Company (AMOC), and Middle East Oil Refinery (MIDOR). All of these companies are planned to be offered during the first phase.
El Molla explained that NI Capital will begin evaluating the five companies to offer 20% of each of their ownership base or for expansion.
The ministry plans to expand ownership bases of companies already listed on the EGX, explained El Molla, such as Sidpec, AMOC, and MOPCO, through offering 20% of their shares on the market to increase their capital.
The minister pointed out that the five companies are listed for the first phase and that a second is likely to include Petrojet, he added.
The Ministry of Investment has held several meetings to discuss the proposition programme, where they met with representatives of the Ministry of Petroleum to shortlist a number of companies ready for such a move.
Minister of Investment Dalia Khorshid told Daily News Egypt that she will meet with officials in the banking and electricity sectors within days to discuss offering companies of both sectors on the EGX, following in the footsteps of oil companies.
She pointed out that public business sector companies are excluded from the programme in the current phase.
A government source, who requested to remain anonymous, said he expects NI Capital to begin offering companies on the EGX before the end of the year, noting that priority will be given to listed companies.
The programme of offering state-owned companies on the EGX is supervised by a committee that includes Khorshid, Finance Minister Amr El-Garhy, and the Central Bank of Egypt Deputy Governor Lobna Helal.
The chairperson of the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA) said that the committee is studying the legal methods to carry out the government’s exit from listed companies.
He added that these offerings would raise the market value of listed companies.
