The Egyptian Exchange (EGX) said in a statement on Wednesday that Banque du Caire applied to list its shares in the EGX with a capital of EGP 2.25bn, distributed over 562.5m shares with a nominal value of EGP 4 per share.
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The EGX added in a statement on its website that it is currently studying documents provided by the bank to be presented to the listing committee if the required documents are met.
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The Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) governor Tarek Amer said in March 2016 that the CBE will offer Banque du Caire (wholly state-owned) in the EGX during 2017 to increase its capital by 20%, in order to strengthen the EGX.
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This comes within the framework of a plan to offer shares of banks and public companies on the EGX to collect EGP 6-8bn per year, as part of an economic reform programme adopted by the government in agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that agreed to lend $12bn over three years.
This programme includes offering companies from the petroleum and industry sectors in the EGX.
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The last IPO of governmental companies was in September 2016, when the government offered Misr Fertilizers Production Company (MOPCO), 10 years after the IPO of Telecom Egypt, AMOC, and SKPC.
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Mohamed Omran, chairperson of the EGX, told Reuters Wednesday that Banque du Caire will be registered during the coming week.
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Mounir El-Zahid, chairperson of Banque du Caire, said in August 2016 that offering 20% of the bank’s shares in the EGX will not affect the state’s share in its ownership; therefore, the state’s control on the bank will not be affected.
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In November 2016, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi called on the government to set a timetable to offer the state’s companies in the EGX.
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Banque du Caire’s profits registered EGP 2.8bn during the last fiscal year, according to El-Zahid.
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Amer said in March 2016 that the CBE will offer a share of the Arab African International Bank. A share of 50% is owned by the CBE and the rest is owned by the Kuwaiti side. The Egyptian government will offer 20% of its share and Kuwait will offer an equal amount.
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