01:25 PM
Sunday August 21 2022
I wrote – Manal Al-Masry:
Banking sources told Masrawy that the Central Bank of Egypt is currently studying the trade-off between two offers from the Saudi Public Investment Fund and the sovereign wealth fund “ADQ Holding Company” owned by the UAE government of Abu Dhabi to acquire the United Bank, and that this deal has not been resolved yet. .
The sources added that the Central Bank granted approval earlier to the Saudi Public Investment Fund, as well as the (ADQ) Holding Company to conduct a due diligence examination on the United Bank, and the completion of this process was completed, but no offers from them were resolved, and it is entrusted with determining that the Central Bank as Owner of the United Bank.
The sources confirmed that there has been no agreement so far between the Central Bank of Egypt and any of the Saudi and Emirati parties regarding the purchase of the entire United Bank, as is rumored by some.
She pointed out that The United Bank is a strategic goal for many international institutions as a result of the strength of its financial position and its prestigious position in the Egyptian market and the work of an elite of professional bankers in the bank.
The Central Bank has the right to agree to more than one party to conduct a due diligence examination for the purpose of acquiring any bank planning the sale process in Egypt, as happened recently regarding the competition of Arab Banking Corporation ABC and Emirates NBD to acquire BLOM Bank Egypt, which was decided in favor of the first following the withdrawal of the second from Deal.
The Central Bank owns regarding 99.9% of the shares of The United Bank, the entity that was established in 2006 within the implementation of the banking system reform plan, reducing the number of banks in Egypt from 69 banks to 39 only, and working to strengthen their financial positions.
Tariq Amer, the former governor of the Central Bank, announced in March 2016 the start of procedures to prepare the United Bank for sale to a strategic investor, and an American fund specialized in small and medium projects submitted to purchase the bank in 2019, but the due diligence process was postponed due to its coincidence with the spread of the Corona virus pandemic, according to sources who spoke with Masrawy earlier.
Earlier this month, the Sovereign Fund of Egypt announced the completion of the deal of the Saudi Egyptian Investment Company, wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund, to acquire state-owned minority stakes in four leading Egyptian companies listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange, with a value of $1.3 billion.
These companies include Abu Qir Fertilizers and Chemical Industries Company, Misr Fertilizer Production Company, Alexandria Container and Cargo Handling Company, and e-finance for financial and digital investments.
It is noteworthy that last March, Egypt signed an agreement with the Public Investment Fund, with the aim of pumping $10 billion into the Egyptian market, during the coming period.
As for the Sovereign Wealth Fund “Holding” (ADQ), owned by the Abu Dhabi government, it announced last April the purchase of stakes in 5 companies listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange, with a total value of regarding $1.88 billion, which are Commercial International Bank, Fawry Technology, MOPCO, Abu Qir Fertilizers, and Alexandria Tadawul. containers.