Egypt: Govt studying floating state-owned insurance firms
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Jan 2018
The Egyptian government is considering floating shares in state-owned insurers on the stock exchange, adding to a list which includes oil companies and the full-service Bank of Cairo.
A senior official at Egypt’s state-owned National Investment Bank told New Arab that Misr Insurance is at the forefront of financial institutions expected to be floated, given the interest from foreign investors in the insurance sector. The bank official added that “studies are being conducted in strict discretion, given the sensitivity of the matter”.
The Ministry of Investment has recently contracted NI Capital, a subsidiary of the National Investment Bank, as a consultant to the Ministry in preparing the initial public offerings of government-owned companies. The goal is to attract domestic and international investments estimated at US$10 billion over three years.
“The ratio of the offering will not exceed 20% of the total shares, so some do not think that this is a new trend towards privatisation,” said the official.
The IPOs are being planned as the government seeks to raise money to support foreign exchange reserves and to fill part of a budget deficit.
In addition to external borrowing, the government is promoting the introduction of domestic debt instruments, which is also attracting foreign investors as the government’s high interest rates attract buyers. M