Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi issued a presidential decree, published in the Official Gazette, transferring ownership of all shares of the Misr Insurance Holding Company to the Sovereign Fund of Egypt.

The decision, which was signed on March 10, allows the start of offering shares from affiliated companies of the Holding Insurance Company within the government offering program, which includes 32 companies, including Misr Insurance and Misr Life Insurance, affiliated with the Holding Insurance Company.

Before transferring its ownership to the sovereign fund, Misr Insurance Holding Company was affiliated with the Ministry of Public Business Sector.

Misr Insurance Holding has a portfolio of companies that includes Misr Insurance, Misr Life Insurance, Misr Real Estate Asset Management, Misr Real Estate Development Company, Misr Takaful Insurance(Non-Life), Misr Takaful Insurance (Life), and Misr Finance for Financial Services, according to its website.

Last February, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly revealed a list of 32 government companies with the aim of offering them on the stock exchange or selling shares of them to major investors, over the course of a year starting from the first quarter of 2023 until the first quarter of 2024.

Through these proposals, Egypt aims to expand the participation of the private sector in government projects, and also to attract foreign investments in light of the great challenges in providing hard currency despite the devaluation of the currency by more than half and the signing of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund in order to obtain a new loan worth 3 billion dollars.

The Egyptian government said last Sunday that it would begin on Wednesday the procedures for offering the two companies, Wataniya and Safi, owned by the National Service Projects Agency of the Armed Forces, through the offering advisor, who will communicate with investors and make data on the two companies available.

The government statement did not clarify any details regarding the expected offering process and whether the offering would be to a strategic investor or through the stock exchange, nor did the government announce the percentages it intends to offer or the offering price.