Qatar Investment Authority is planning to spend around $2.5 billion to buy 20% stake in Egypt’s biggest mobile network operator, Vodafone Egypt from Telecom Egypt Co.
The deal with Qatar would be a boost for Egypt’s troubled economy, which is grappling with soaring food and fuel bills after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and an exodus of foreign investors in its local debt. It saw $22 billion in outflows from the local debt market since March.
Gulf Arab states have already pledged upward of $20 billion in deposits and investments, while Egypt is close to securing sorely needed International Monetary Fund assistance.
State-owned Telecom Egypt, which began operating in 1854 with the first telegraph line connecting Cairo and Alexandria, acquired its 45% stake in Vodafone Egypt to gain a strategic foothold in the mobile telecommunications market.
Last month, Egypt said it is seeking to raise close to $6 billion before the middle of next year by selling stakes in state-owned businesses, as it seeks to revive an economy hit by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The country’s planning minister Hala Elsaid said the program may include share offerings to the public or block sales to strategic investors, and will be supported by the country’s sovereign wealth fund.
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