Cairo – Mubasher: Egyptian authorities are holding various talks with local and international investment banks in order to advise the government on stake sales in government firms on the local bourse, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing Egypt’s investment and international cooperation minister Sahar Nasr as saying.

The plan focuses on initial public offerings [IPOs] that would “broaden the ownership” of the companies among Egyptians, bolster local capital markets, and help the government raise revenue,” Bloomberg said, citing Nasr.

Egypt has in fact already appointed HSBC and EFG-Hermes as advisors on the planned IPO of Banque du Caire, a local state-owned bank.

The programme is set to include oil companies, officials had said previously.

The stake sales are seen as part of “broader efforts” to boost the Egyptian economy, which has been battered by unrest since 2011.

Inflows have risen significantly since the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) removed the local currency’s dollar-peg in November 2016. The step was taken to secure a $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The Egyptian minister said the government was also working on other measures, “including an investment law to remove red tape,” according to Bloomberg.

“We’re rebranding Egypt, improving the business environment, and making sure that more investments come” from the US and other countries, Nasr said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in New York, highlighting that the process is moving “very fast.”

It is expected that Egypt, the most populous Arab country, will finalise talks for the final $1 billion tranche of a $3 billion loan from the World Bank within a four-month period, she added.