Cairo, Egypt (CNN) – Sources told CNN in Arabic that the Saudi Egyptian Investment Company – owned by the Saudi sovereign fund – intends to increase the volume of its investments in Egypt during the coming period, by acquiring a stake in Misr Aluminum Company, and raising its stake in the Egyptian International Industries Company. Pharmaceutical-EPICO.
The Saudi Public Investment Fund launched the Saudi Egyptian Company for Investments, during the month of August, with the aim of investing in the sectors of infrastructure, real estate, health, agriculture, and medicines in Egypt, and days after its establishment, it announced the acquisition of minority shares in 4 government companies listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange. At a value of $ 1.3 billion, according to an official statement.
An official source at Misr Aluminum Company, who declined to be named, told CNN in Arabic that a company was assigned to prepare a fair value study for the share to start procedures for increasing the company’s capital at a value of $300 million to finance the company’s development plan and maintain the company’s production capacity at a rate of 320,000 tons annually, provided that The Saudi Sovereign Fund will acquire a share of the company by participating in a capital increase subscription at a value that may reach $200 million, expecting to complete the study and start the capital increase within a period ranging from one to two months.
Misr Aluminum Company appointed Premier Financial Consulting Company to prepare a study of the fair value of the company’s shares, in order to increase the company’s capital. To support the rehabilitation of the existing factory and maintain the production capacity of 320 thousand tons.
The source explained, in exclusive statements to CNN in Arabic, the importance of subscribing to the company’s capital increase to maintain the company’s production capacity, which achieves good financial performance, as the company’s profits increased in the first quarter of the current fiscal year by 110.8% to reach 642.6 million pounds ($26.1 million). ), and distributed a cash coupon of 4.5 Egyptian pounds ($0.18) per share to shareholders.
The capital of Misr Aluminum Company amounts to 1.65 billion pounds ($67.2 million), distributed over 415.5 million shares, and the ownership structure is divided between the Holding Company for Metallurgical Industries by 89.84%, and El-Nasr Mining by 2.2%, and the remaining percentage is free-floating shares.
An official source at the Egyptian International Company for Pharmaceutical Industries-Eppico confirmed, in exclusive statements to CNN in Arabic, that the Saudi sovereign fund acquired a 4.7% stake in the company during the past month, and intends to raise its stake by contributing to a capital increase, which is expected to be offered during the coming period after Obtaining official approvals.
Money market expert Mohamed Kamal said that there is a demand from Gulf investment funds to acquire shares in companies listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange, as part of its plan to support Egypt to overcome the foreign exchange gap crisis and take advantage of the opportunity to decline the market value of listed companies, which achieve high returns and spend huge cash dividends to shareholders. Such as Misr Aluminum Company, which is characterized by a low profitability factor and high cash dividends.
Several Gulf countries have allocated $22 billion in investments and financing to Egypt, divided between $5 billion deposited by Saudi Arabia in the Central Bank of Egypt, another $10 billion pumped by the Saudi sovereign fund, $5 billion that Qatar intends to invest in Egypt, and $2 billion from the Abu Dhabi sovereign fund. To buy shares in companies listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange.
Kamal added, in exclusive statements to CNN in Arabic, that the appetite of Gulf funds to invest in the Egyptian Stock Exchange pushed them to achieve strong levels of rise during the last period, as the main index of the stock exchange rose to its highest level in two years, and the average value of trading increased to reach 1.6 billion pounds (65.1 billion pounds). million dollars) per day, and carried out during Monday’s session the largest number of transactions on the stock exchange in 12 years.
In the event that the aluminum deal is implemented, the total number of companies in which the Saudi Egyptian Investment Company owns shares will become 6 companies: Abu Qir Fertilizers and Chemical Industries, Misr Fertilizers Production – MOPCO, Alexandria Containers and Commodities Handling, E-Finance for Financial and Digital Investments, and Egyptian International Pharmaceutical Industries – Ippico. And BTech, which acquired a 34% stake in early October.