Egypt to list 10 state-run, 2 army-run companies on stock market – PM

Egypt plans to list ten state-run companies and two armed forces-run more on its stock exchange (EGX), Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli announced in a press conference on Sunday.

The prime minister did not disclose any timeframe for the listing. Speaking about Egypt’s plan to handle the ongoing global economic crisis, Madbouly said the government studies listing major hotel firms on the EGX, by merging them under the umbrella of one company. The merged company would then sell some shares on the bourse and mandate international investment banks to manage and advise on the offering, he added.

The government has allocated 130 billion Egyptian pounds ($7.1 billion) to handle the direct repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis in the coming period as a result of increased commodity prices. Last year, Egypt achieved the highest export rate in its history and an unprecedented increase in the Suez Canal. Foreign direct investment due to the global economic crisis as a result of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis has fallen, and the world’s public debt has worsened by 351 per cent. The 60 per cent world’s poorest countries have become critically indebted and inflation has reached 9 per cent globally.

“Egypt is not in isolation from the world in the aftermath of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, which is the worst globally since the 1920s. If it were not for the economic reform programme and unprecedented development rates, Egypt would not have been able to endure from the first coronavirus crisis and stand in front of these crises.” he noted.

He explained that many countries are moving to increase interest rates, and that the IMF has lowered its forecast for 143 countries’ growth rates. “I challenge any global expert who can show up and say what the global economy will be in a year.” he concluded.