Egypt to sell United Bank stake by end of March, c.bank says

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s central bank aims to sell shares in state-owned United Bank in an initial public offering (IPO) on the stock exchange by the end of March, it said in a statement on Sunday.

It did not say how big the stake would be and said that it was still seeking approvals from the stock exchange and the Financial Regulatory Authority.

United Bank increased its total assets to 106 billion Egyptian pounds ($2.2 billion) at the end of June from 72 billion pounds in 2021, the central bank statement said.

Its net profit rose to 1.74 billion pounds in 2023 from 1.15 billion pounds two years earlier. United Bank has 68 branches with 1,800 employees.

The central bank sent investment banks a request for proposals in March 2023 for an advisory role in the stake sale after Egypt failed to reach agreement with Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund on acquiring a stake.

The government in early 2023 placed United Bank, Arab African International Bank and Banque du Caire (BQDC.CA), opens new tab on a list for the potential sale of state-owned stakes.

Egypt is aiming to sell $3.6 billion in state assets denominated in U.S. dollars in the financial year to the end of next June as part of an $8 billion financial support agreement it signed in March with the International Monetary Fund.

It also said it would divest additional assets worth 0.5% of gross domestic product denominated in either U.S. dollars or Egyptian pounds.

($1 = 48.5000 Egyptian pounds)This comes one day after a strong rally driven by a larger-than-usual half-point interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.