Gulf states eye stake in Egypt’s fuel distribution firm

Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are interested in buying stakes in a fuel-distribution company owned by Egypt’s army and a power plant that is co-built by Germany’s Siemens AG, the CEO of the state-run Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE) said yesterday.

Ayman Soliman was quoted by Al-Sharq as saying that the Gulf interest had come as part of their recent investment pledges to pump billions of dollars into the Egyptian economy.

“Several international investors, including Gulf sovereign wealth funds, have shown interest in Wataniya and the Siemens-built power plant,” Soliman told Bloomberg, adding that the sale of the firm was planned either through an “initial public offering (IPO), a partnership with a strategic investor or a combination of the two.”

The Egyptian official pointed out that he was seeking to secure a “strategic investor ahead of the IPO.”

Oil-rich Gulf states are looking to bolster Egypt’s economy as the major food importer comes under mounting strain from soaring commodity prices due to the war in Ukraine, and seeks  International Monetary Fund (IMF) assistance.

In recent months, Saudi Arabia pledged $15 billion to support Egypt, Qatar is putting up $5 billion for deals with local companies, while the UAE wealth fund made a $2 billion deal to buy state-owned stakes in publicly-listed companies.

READ: EU backs Egypt with $109m to tackle global food price rise