The Egyptian government announced on Sunday that it would begin listing two military-affiliated National Petroleum Company (NPC) and National Co. for Natural Water in Siwa (Safi) to investors.

In a meeting to follow up on the government's programme whereby a list of Egyptian state-owned companies is listed on the Egyptian stock market and also sold to strategic investors,  Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced that on Wednesday, the procedures for offering “NPC” and “Safi” companies would begin through the IPO advisor who will communicate with investors and make available the data of the two companies.

According to the cabinet spokesperson, the IPO advisor aims to maximise the value of the two companies and to attract investors from the local or foreign private sector after completing the preparation process of the IPO of the two companies under the supervision of the Sovereign Fund of Egypt.

The cabinet spokesperson also stated that during the meeting, the committee following up on the offerings programme agreed to offer four other major companies through international investment banks.

The meeting was attended by Minister of Petroleum Tarek El-Molla, Minister of Planning Hala El-Saeed, Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait, Minister of Public Business Sector Mahmoud Esmat, Minister of Trade and Industry Ahmed Samir and the CEO of Egypt’s Sovereign Fund Ayman Soliman.

In February, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced that 32 Egyptian state companies would be listed on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) and also sold for strategic investors within a year, including “NPC” and “Siwa”, which are owned by the Egyptian Armed Forces.

The premier had stressed then that floating the companies is one of the strategic goals under the State Ownership Policy Document.

The document, approved by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in December, charts a roadmap to determine the state's presence in economic activities and enhance the private sector's participation in public investments.

The ownership document states that Egypt seeks to raise the role of the private sector in the country’s economic activities from 30 per cent at present to 65 per cent within three years.

Boosting the role of the private sector in growth in parallel with reducing the size of the state’s footprint in the economy was one of the country's commitments and targets under the $3 billion 46-month loan approved by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).