Cairo – Mubasher: Qalaa Holdings is set to launch the commercial operation of the Egyptian Refining Company (ERC) by the fourth quarter of 2019, the company’s chairman Ahmed Heikal revealed in a statement on Thursday.
Currently, the ERC is raising its utilisation rates to be fully operational by Q4-19, Heikal noted.
Earlier in September, the Egyptian firm announced that all units at the ERC have become operational with the commissioning of the hydrocracker unit.
Previously, Qalaa Holdings said that it owns a 13.14% stake directly and indirectly in the ERC.
In May, the EGX-listed firm obtained a funding of $120 million to finance the ERC project, divided into $70 million for capital increase and $50 million for loans to shareholders.
It is noteworthy that during the first half of 2019, the Egyptian firm suffered net losses of EGP 449.6 million, against a net profit of EGP 73.4 million in the same period of 2018, including minority shareholders’ rights.
