Arab Contractors may IPO on Cairo bourse – sources

Egypt’s leading construction firm, Arab Contractors is likely to offer shares in initial public offering on the local stock market, said sources from the Holding Company for Construction and Development (HCCD).

The company’s IPO shall be part of the Egyptian government’s scheme to list shares in state banks and companies on the stock market, the sources added.

The Arab Contractors (AC) is one of the leading construction companies in the Middle East and Africa.

A Week earlier, the presidency said Egypt plans to list shares in state-owned banks and companies on the stock market, in a move aimed at jump-starting investment and boosting economic growth.

“The coming period will witness offerings of parts of the capital of successful Egyptian companies and banks on the bourse,” said presidential spokesman Alaa Youssef.

The statement followed a meeting between President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and ministers to discuss the stock market’s decline.

The statement did not specify which banks or sectors would be offered.

The last time state-owned companies were listed on the exchange was in 2005 when shares of Telecom Egypt, the state’s landline monopoly, and oil companies Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals and AMOC were floated.

Last year, three major companies floated on the exchange — cake and biscuit maker EDITA, real estate firm Emaar Misr and Orascom Construction.

There are around 270 companies listed on the bourse and about 500,000 investors, of which between 80,000 and 100,000 are active. Documents seen by Reuters earlier showed there were 15 companies waiting to sell shares.