Cairo – Mubasher: Egypt is looking to float a minority stake in state-run Banque du Caire in an initial public offering (IPO) in April, the bank’s chairman Tarek Fayed told Reuters.

“Our plan is to go with the IPO by mid-April, but it depends on the market conditions,” Tarek added in an interview with the international news agency on Tuesday.

The sale is expected to raise nearly $500 million provided that the impact of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) doesn't dampen investor interest, he pointed out. 

“The programme allows us to go up to 45%. But the main objective is to raise funds in the vicinity of $500 million. So if we translate the $500 million into a percentage this could leave us in the range of 20% to 30% of the float of the bank’s ownership,” he noted. 

Fayed revealed that he held discussions with several anchor investors, noting that $50 million to $75 million in shares might be sold to them.