Expect up to 30% of Banque du Caire to be offered via IPO this year: The government is planning to sell 20-30% of Banque du Caire’s shares in an initial public offering on the EGX by the end of this year, central bank Governor Tarek Amer told Bloomberg in Washington. “It’s not about money. We have a plan to support the stock exchange with new issues. There is a lot of demand,” Amer said.

Background: Public Enterprises Minister Hisham Tawfik told us in March that the next wave of offerings under the state privatization program would include new listings. The ministry had plans to IPO four or five state companies at a rate of about one per month starting from September. The government was also expected to announce an updated list of the companies on the roster, Tawfik said, after the state kick-started the program with the sale of an additional 4.5% stake in Eastern Company last month. Proceeds from the privatization of state companies will be divided between the state treasury, shareholders, and debt repayment, a senior official told us last month.