Egypt’s two biggest banks partner to form urban development JV

By Mohamed Salem On Jun 6, 2021

Egypt's biggest state banks National Bank of Egypt and Banque Misr — Egypt’s two biggest state banks, National Bank of Egypt and Banque Misr

Egypt’s two biggest state banks, the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) and Banque Misr have set up a new joint venture for urban development.

Egypt’s urban development sector has seen a burst of activity as performance boomed in the second half of 2020, making a growth rate of more than 12 percent during the period from July to December.

NBE and Banque Misr will equally own a 50 percent share in the joint venture, named Rawasi for Urban Development, sources with knowledge of the matter told Amwal Al Ghad on Sunday.

The two banks are seeking to attract new shareholders in the new JV, the sources said.

The new JV will start buying out assets worth up to 9 billion Egyptian pounds ($573.6 million) belonged to Egyptian property developer giant Talaat Moustafa Group during a partnership agreement that will be signed soon.

Rawasi is the second JV formed by NBE and Banque Misr in less than a year.

The two banks formed First Design in the fourth quarter of 2020, having partnered with four other banks, Suez Canal Bank, the United Bank, Export Development Bank, and EG Bank. The company was launched with paid-up capital worth 50 million pounds and an issued capital of 200 million pounds.