Egypt’s sovereign fund to launch new industry-focused subfund by July

The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE) is expecting the launch of a new industry-focused subfund in July, with discussions with investors set to be complete by June.

According to SFE chair, Hala El Said, the fund is in talks with seven local investors across a variety of industries to launch the subfund. She announced that the fund was exploring establishing the subfund just last week.

Discussions for the new subfund include investors in the food, engineering, and building materials industries, as well as industries related to the manufacturing of railway and train supplies.

The industry-focused subfund is part of the SFE’s multisector strategy, which spans across nine sectors; Tourism, Real Estate & Antiquities; Infrastructure & Utilities; Healthcare & Pharma; Financial Services & Fintech; Education; Food and Agriculture; and Telecommunication.

The sovereign fund also launched its Pre-Initial Public Offering (Pre- IPO) Subfund back in 2022 which offers investors the chance to obtain stakes in state-owned enterprises ahead of their IPOs in line with the government’s state ownership policy document and strategy to exit certain sectors.

So far, five of these sector-focused subfunds are actively managed by a dedicated board of directors according to their website.

In a bid to encourage fresh investments, Egypt’s sovereign fund is planning a tour of the Gulf next month.

El Said revealed at the time that the tour would include meetings with investors, financial institutions, and other sovereign funds to discuss potential investments on offer.