The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF)‘s Egyptian arm is in advanced negotiations to purchase The United Bank in Egypt.
According to Bloomberg, the sale would be worth roughly $600 million and will include The United Bank, which is one of the banks owned by the Egyptian government.
Sources said that the Public Investment Fund would carry out the acquisition through its subsidiary, the Saudi Egyptian Investment Company.
The PIF established this firm in 2022 to invest in large sectors of the Egyptian economy.
Sources expect a final agreement to be reached within this month, although talks are still taking place on final terms.
Representatives for the PIF declined to comment. Officials at the Central Bank of Egypt could not be reached for comment.
This comes as Saudi Arabia pledged $10 billion in investments in sectors such as health care, education, and agriculture.
It has already acquired state-owned stakes in 4 publicly listed Egyptian companies for $1.3 billion and has deposited $5 billion in the country’s central bank.
Saudi Finance Minister Muhammad Al-Jadaan said that the kingdom has started “investing strongly in Egypt” and will continue “to look at investment opportunities, and this is more significant than deposits.”
He added that deposits can be withdrawn, but investments cannot.
Egypt, one of the world’s largest wheat importers, is racing to secure financial support from its Arab allies in the Gulf. This will help prop up an economy suffering from soaring food and fuel import bills.
Egypt has devalued its currency twice this year and reached a personal agreement on a $3 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund. This loan is due to be approved later this month.
According to its website, The United Bank, which was established in 2006, has 65 branches nationwide and more than 200 ATMs.
