Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund acquires stakes in Egyptian state-owned firms

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund acquired stakes in several state-owned Egyptian companies yesterday.

The Public Investment Fund-owned Saudi Egyptian Investment Company purchased minority stakes in Abu Qir Fertilisers and Chemical Industries, Misr Fertilisers Production Company, Alexandria Container and Cargo Handling, and E-Finance for Financial and Digital Investments. The acquisitions are worth $1.3 billion in total, the Egyptian state-owned news outlet Al-Ahram reported. 

The stock prices of Abu Qir Fertilisers and Chemical Industries, Misr Fertilisers Production Company, and Alexandria Container and Cargo Handling all went up on the Egyptian Stock Exchange today, according to market data. Al-Monitor could not find stock data for E-Finance for Financial and Digital Investments. 

Why it matters: Saudi Arabia pledged to invest more than $7 billion in a variety of industries in Egypt during Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s June visit to the country. To this end, the Saudi Public Investment Fund established the Saudi Egyptian Investment Company earlier this month.

Earlier this year, Egypt decided to sell several state-owned companies in a bid to attract foreign investment and boost the struggling Egyptian economy. Like other countries in the region, Egypt is struggling with high inflation as well as difficulties obtaining wheat due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

Know more: The crown prince also plans to invest in Egypt via his controversial NEOM megacity project. Part of the southern Sinai Peninsula will be included in the development.