Egypt will sell its United Bank stake by the end of March, according to c.bank

Egypt’s central bank announced in a statement on Sunday that it intends to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) on the stock exchange to sell shares in state-owned United Bank by the end of March.

The company did not specify the size of the stake and stated that it was still in the process of obtaining approvals from the Financial Regulatory Authority and the stock exchange.

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

Its net profit increased from 1.15 billion pounds two years prior to 2023 to 1.74 billion pounds. There are 1,800 employees at United Bank, which operates 68 branches.

Following Egypt’s failure to reach an agreement with Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund regarding the acquisition of a stake, the central bank issued a request for proposals to investment banks in March 2023 for an advisory position in the stake sale.

In the early months of 2023, the government included Banque du Caire (BQDC.CA), Arab African International Bank, and United Bank on a list for the prospective sale of state-owned stocks.

The International Monetary Fund signed a $8 billion financial support agreement with Egypt in March, which includes the sale of $3.6 billion in state assets denominated in U.S. dollars by the end of the financial year next June.

Additionally, it declared that it would divest assets denominated in either Egyptian pounds or U.S. dollars, equal to 0.5% of the gross domestic product.

$ 1 is equivalent to 48.5000 Egyptian pounds.