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Al-Ahram Weekly 7 - 13 October 1999 Issue No. 450 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 7 - 13 October 1999 Issue No. 450
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Interview Features Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Privatisation by the dozen
By Gamal Essam El-DinPublic Business Minister Atef Ebeid announced on Saturday that the government will give its final decision at the end of this month on offers submitted by local and foreign bidders to buy twelve major state-owned companies. The firms are involved in internal trade, fertiliser production and filmmaking. Total market value of these companies was initially estimated at about LE2.8 billion, Ebeid said.
Companies on the list for sale include five department stores (Omar Effendi, Modern Fashion Company, the Clothing and Consumer Products Company, the Egyptian Products Sales Company and Hanneau and Cicurel Stores), Abu Zaabal Fertiliser Production Company, the Industrial Gas Company and the Movie Production Studios Company. It also includes the Helnan hotel chain and Dahab Hotel, the Egyptian Company for Television Equipment, the Egyptian Paints Company and 11 per cent of the Eastern Tobacco Company.
At the conclusion of his meeting with chairmen of 17 holding companies, Ebeid said that sale of the above companies will raise privatisation proceeds to LE15.5 billion. Ebeid is the minister with primary responsibility for moving the privatisation programme forward.
The minister also revealed that on 7 October a contract to sell 75 per cent of the shares in Alexandria Cement Company for LE600 million will be signed with the British company Blue Circle. And on 16 October, 90 per cent of Assiut Cement Company will be sold for LE1.4 billion to Mexico's Cemex Company, Ebeid added.
During fiscal year1998/1999, anchor investors bought 32 Egyptian companies for LE4.5 billion, Ebeid said. These companies were sold to a variety of investors from Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Greece, he added.
Elaborating on current negotiations to sell the five department stores, Ebeid said that by the beginning of November the winning bidders will present detailed plans for upgrading the technical and administrative aspects of these stores. The government is using foreign experts, with a proven record in running department stores, to assess the offers submitted, he added. One of the groups bidding on the department stores, the Industrialists of Egypt, has formed a company with a capital of LE500 million to specialise in the field of retail marketing and manage the stores.
