EXCLUSIVE- Straight from the Finance Ministry — No dates set yet for state privatization program: Forget all the hypothetical dates on when the government is kicking off the state privatization program as no firm dates for when they will kick off has been set, Vice Minister of Finance Ahmed Kouchouk tells Enterprise. “The government is currently taking preliminary procedures before the program gets underway,” said Kouchouk. The local press has made a habit of throwing widely varying dates around on when the program will kick off. Most recently, CBE Governor Tarek Amer was quoted as saying that Banque du Caire will IPO on the Egyptian Exchange by the end of 2018 or early 2019. Finance Minister Amr El Garhy had previously said that the the committee overseeing the program is still deciding which companies will see shares listed, and that it is likely that already listed companies will pilot the program.

What we’re hearing from the Finance Ministry: Six to eight companies will list shares in FY2018-19, officials tell us. The state budget for the next fiscal year anticipates revenues from the listing will be in the tune of EGP 10 bn.

IMF begins third review of the economic reform program: An IMF delegation is in town and has begun conducting a third review of the economic reform program yesterday, Kouchouk said. The review will be completed by 17 May. The delegation will meet with a number of officials and look into key economic metrics including growth and unemployment figures to gauge the success of the program. The visit will unlock the next USD 2 bn tranche of the IMF’s USD 12 bn extended fund facility. Vice Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait told us last week that he expects the disbursement will arrive sometime in June or July.