Egypt postpones IPO for state-run Banque du Caire over covid-19

Egypt has postponed sine die the Initial Public Offering (IPO) to sell minority shares state-run Banque du Caire (BQDC.CA) due to spread of covid-19 contamination, reports say.
The operation slated for mid-April on the Egyptian Stock Exchange aimed at selling the shares for about $500 million. The Bank Chairman Tarek Fayed, Reuters notes, told a local media in an interview that the roadshow is deferred owing to the covid-19 outbreak.
“Plans to offer a share of the bank on the Egyptian Stock Exchange are currently deferred due to the spread of the new coronavirus globally and locally, and the impact on both local and global stock markets,” Fayed told the private Almasry Alyoum newspaper in an interview published Sunday.
The transaction in the in pipeline since last year was first postponed to April this year because of market volatility. The state hopes to relinquish between 20 and 30 per cent of the state-run financial institution.
BQDC.CA is by state-owned Banque Misr after taking the control in mid-2000 over non-performing loans in exchange for assets.
Egypt, the first African country to report the first covid-19 case in February, Sunday said the number of confirmed cases has topped 2,065 while the death toll hit 159.