The Transport Ministry has decided to scrap the temporary listing of the Port Said Container and Cargo Handling Company (PSCCHC) and the Damietta Container and Cargo Handling Company (DCHC) on the Egyptian Exchange, according to two high-ranking government sources. Instead, the ministry only intends to sell shares to a strategic investor, even though these companies were part of the government’s offering program of 32 companies, which was announced in February last year.
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the Transport Ministry wants to attract specific groups of investors who have the expertise and capacity to manage and operate these containers and ports.
They confirmed that the ministry will not ask for more time to submit the offering papers and documents for the two companies. They also mentioned that there are serious negotiations underway with two foreign investors, one from the UAE and the other from Qatar, to manage and operate the two companies.
Transport Minister Kamel El-Wazir stated, at a press conference held yesterday, that the ministry has abandoned the idea of offering its companies or restructuring them through listing on EGX.
The amendments to the Capital Market Law allowed the temporary listing of shares of Egyptian and foreign companies on EGX before registering with the Authority, instead of requiring prior registration with the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA).
The deadline for the temporary registration of the aforementioned companies on EGX expired in July last year. The deadline has not been extended or the listing cancellation filed yet.
The decision came after a committee was formed to assess the viability of the listing process to attract foreign investments to increase the ministry’s foreign currency earnings. The sources also noted that the committee in charge of the offering file chose not to list the ministry’s companies on EGX despite their temporary listing.
The ministry is following a plan to attract foreign investments by assigning its national and investment projects and its own companies for management and operation by foreign investors.
In December last year, Minister El-Wazir said that the next phase would involve trading the shares of the ministry’s companies on EGX to bring in investments.
