Egypt is preparing to list 10 companies within the government’s IPO program in the stock market during the first half of the upcoming fiscal year, while studying to provide tax incentives in new geographical cities – including the New Administrative Capital, the Suez Canal area and el-Alamein – for certain sectors.
Egyptian Finance Minister Mohamed Maait explained that 10 companies will be offered within the government offering program in the stock market but he did not reveal the names of the companies and sectors operating in them.
He added that the government plans to issue sukuk certificates in general, and that part of the financing in the new fiscal year will be through sukuks.
He noted that the value of the sukuk issuance has not yet been determined.
Maait’s statements came on the sidelines of his participation in a session on benefiting from sukuks to move towards a green economy, which was held on Saturday, as part of the annual meetings of the Islamic Development Bank Group in Sharm el-Sheikh.
“We have been talking about the issuance of sukuk in Egypt for about 15 years, and the issue has taken many stages of discussions. What happened during the past two years is the issuance of a law for sukuks and the development of its executive regulations, and we are currently working on the relevant preparations,” he said.
Maait stressed the importance of expanding the base of investors in sukuks, especially since the type of investor in sukuks are different.
He called for making a suitable environment for sukuks that includes investors and international financial institutions such as the Islamic Development Bank Group.
The Finance Ministry is studying providing tax incentives in the new geographical cities, including the New Administrative Capital, the Suez Canal area and el-Alamein, and industrial zones in the regions, for certain sectors.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
