Egypt sells 9.5% stake in Telecom Egypt for $121 million

Egypt sold a 9.5 per cent stake in state-run Telecom Egypt Co., raising more than 3.7 billion Egyptian pounds ($121 million) in a signal to investors that the country is serious about implementing a sweeping economic reform program.

The government sold 162 million shares in the telecommunications company, representing about a 9.5 per cent stake in the firm, according to a filing to the Egyptian stock exchange.

The shares were priced at 23.11 Egyptian pounds each, according to a separate filing. Egypt plans to offer a further 0.5 per cent for company employees to buy.

The offering, which had been discussed in March, represents a key step in the government’s plan to sell state assets in a bid to raise sorely-needed cash. Officials had outlined a list of 32 companies, including several banks and two military-affiliated companies, that were earmarked to be sold. Little progress had been made, raising fears that the country would delay moving ahead with the program.

The push is part of a broader effort to revamp Egypt’s struggling economy, which has seen the currency devalued three times since March 2022, a move that helped secure a $3 billion program from the International Monetary Fund. Bookbuilding for the offering of Telecom Egypt shares, in which the government held an 80 per cent stake, began late last week. Officials marketed the price range of the shares at 22.22 pounds to 27.16 pounds.