State asset sales continue in Egypt as plans to improve the country’s revenue while shoring up dollars remains a key strategy.
News reports indicated that the United Arab Emirates investment firm bought a 30 percent stake in Egypt’s largest tobacco company (Eastern Company) for US$625 million. The UAE firm, identified by Egypt’s cabinet as Global Investment Holding Ltd., will also provide Eastern Company with US$150 million for the purchase of raw materials for manufacturing. The deal follows an announcement in July that Egypt had reached agreements with investors that included Abu Dhabi wealth fund ADQ to sell stakes in a number of companies for a total of US$1.9 billion. (Bloomberg)
Recall, that Eastern Company is one of the 35 companies on the list in which the authorities are looking to sell shares by the end of June 2024. The government announced that it plans to attract US$5.0 billion by offering stakes in its power plants and state-owned companies from October 2023 until the end of June 2024, according to the Cabinet’s Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC).
