Egypt expects to privatise two or three state-owned companies via listings on the stock exchange in the first year of a privatisation programme, the chief executive of government-owned NI Capital said on Monday. The programme will last for three to five years and will start with state-owned oil companies, but will also include state-owned banks, said Ashraf El-Ghazaly. NI Capital is a government-owned, privately managed financial institution that is part the National Investment Bank. Investment Minister Dalia Khorshid said the government is aiming to raise USD10bn through these transactions. “Many companies will be restructured in the coming period, beginning with electricity companies, to prepare them for share sales on the bourse,” Khorshid said. Proceeds will be used, in part, to narrow the budget deficit, he said. (Reuters, Bloomberg)