(Bloomberg) -- Egypt will sell a stake in state-owned United Bank via a local initial public offering, as the North African nation presses on with efforts to attract a fresh wave of foreign investment through the sale of public assets.
The IPO will take place before the end of the first quarter of 2025, the central bank said Sunday in a statement, without specifying the size of the stake. The sale would be “subject to market conditions and the timely receipt of the relevant regulatory approvals,” it said.
The plan is the latest sign that Egypt, which is emerging from an economic crisis after clinching a $57 billion global bailout, is finally moving forward with a state-divestment program that’s being keenly watched by the International Monetary Fund.
Al-Mal, a Cairo-based newspaper, reported before the announcement that authorities are considering offering between 30%-40% of United Bank, half through public subscription and the rest via private placement. It cited people informed of the plans that it didn’t identify.
The government last year unveiled an initial list of 32 assets it planned to offer to investors, in sectors ranging from banking to energy and real estate. But uptake has been limited, and Egypt has yet to agree on a major sale since sharply devaluing its pound in March.
That may change soon. Egypt is in advanced talks to sell its remaining 20% stake in Alex Bank, another local lender, to Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, Bloomberg reported last week, citing people familiar with the matter.
Authorities in the Middle East’s most populous nation have been looking for years at ways to offload United Bank, which is almost entirely owned by the central bank. Talks with Saudi Arabia over a potential purchase stalled in early 2023 amid a disagreement over how to value the transaction.
United Bank had total assets of 106 billion pounds ($2.18 billion) in June 2024, according to Sunday’s statement.
(Updates with local newspaper report on possible size of stake.)
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