EXCLUSIVE- First wave of share sales in gov’t privatization program coming in July or August: The first wave of state companies selling shares as part of the government’s privatization program is coming in either July or August, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait tells Enterprise. The minister stopped short of specifying which company would go first, but comments from former Public Enterprises Minister Khaled Badawy still have us thinking it could be Eastern Tobacco Company. The company was supposed to have selected advisers to begin selling an additional 4% stake this month.

As for new listings of state-owned companies, the government has yet to settle on which company will pilot the IPO program, according to Maait. The holdup appears to be a report from the Oil Ministry on which company it will recommend to go first. Enppi had been touted to be the first in the program since last year. Other ministries have also not submitted their reports on the companies which will take part in the IPOs. Maait’s comments came a day after he suggested that the first IPOs of the state program would come later than expected. Government officials had previously telegraphed that as many as a half-dozen listings would take place in the second half of this year, an assertion we have consistently questioned.