Grace Ashiru
Telecom Egypt, which brought in 3.75 billion Egyptian pounds ($121.6 million) and helped pay for some of its debts.
Mostafa Madbouly, the prime minister, said he would sell assets worth $2 billion by the end of June. This is part of a deal with the International Monetary Fund to reduce the role of the government in the economy and support growth in the private sector.
For 23.11 pounds per share, the government sold 162.2 million shares of Telecom Egypt. The sale was oversubscribed, meaning more people wanted to buy shares than there were. This shows that many people want to put money into Telecom Egypt.
After this two-part sale, the government’s share of Telecom Egypt will drop from 80% to 70%, and the remaining 20% will be sold on the Egyptian Exchange.
Earlier reports said Egypt was considering bids from the Qatar Investment Authority and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia to buy part of Telecom Egypt’s stake in Vodafone Egypt.
Telecom Egypt owns 45% of Vodafone Egypt, which has a 42% market share and is the largest mobile network company in the country. Vodacom Group, a part of London-listed Vodafone, owns the other 55%.
