Egypt: Aman Holding considers issuing sukuk programme worth $16.3mln

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Hazem Maghazi, CEO of Business and Commercial Affairs at Aman Holding, revealed that the company considers issuing a sukuk programme worth EGP 500m during the current year.

He added that work is also underway on right transfers with one of the banks operating in Egypt, in addition to completing an expected securitization process at a value of up to EGP 500m.

Sources had revealed to Daily News Egypt earlier this month that Aman Services Company had obtained the approval of the Financial Regulatory Authority for a securitization programme.

He stressed that the group is considering selling a share of 10-15% to a strategic investor, pointing out that there are French investors who are negotiating with them.

He added, on the sidelines of a press conference, that major foreign institutions are in continuous talks with them about acquiring a stake in Aman Holding, especially GIZ, the European Bank for Reconstruction, and other institutions.

He pointed out that Aman Holding is proceeding with procedures to increase its current capital by EGP 450m, to rise from about EGP 600m currently to more than EGP1bn, with the aim of financing the expected expansions.

He explained that the shareholding in the company will remain the same after the capital increase, as the National Bank of Egypt owns about 24% of the group, while Raya Holding owns the rest of the company.

He stressed that the group aims to enter the Saudi market during the Gulf season with a new company under the name “Aman”, where it is currently working on establishing it in partnership with a Saudi investor, stressing the completion of the procedures within two months, and the start of operational operations during the current year.

He pointed out that the size of the group’s credit facilities amounted to about EGP 5bn, from about 14 banks, and negotiations are always ongoing with banks to obtain financing worth EGP 4bn.

He pointed out that the company’s consumer financing portfolio amounted to about EGP 3.5bn, and is expected to jump to EGP 5bn by the end of this year.

The company recently obtained an Islamic consumer finance license, opened its first branch, and plans to open about 7 branches during the current year.

Mohamed Wehbe, CEO of Products and Technology at Aman Holding, said that the digital payments company provided payment services at about EGP 28.5bn, expecting the volume of operations to reach more than EGP 40bn by the end of this year.

He pointed out that the company launched its digital application to combine the various services provided by the company through its various arms of the sister companies, as the number of customers on the application has currently reached about 550,000 users, with a volume of transactions amounting to EGP 165m.