Cairo – Mubasher: The growth of Egyptian banks’ profits is expected to attract acquisition offers to the market, Bloomberg said on Wednesday.
The first offer has already submitted last month, by First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) for the Lebanese Audi Bank’s Egyptian unit.
Bank Audi announced in January that it is in talks with some entities, including FAB, for the sale of its unit in Egypt, adding that FAB’s offer is still under consideration and no final decision has been taken.
“Egyptian banks have excessively strong balance sheets, they have very strong amounts of cash. It’s more of a question of who’s willing to sell than who’s willing to buy. They’re rarely up for sale,” director of research at Naeem Brokerage, Allen Sandeep, commented.
Moreover, Bloomberg noted that the Central Bank of Egypt is no longer issuing licenses which makes acquisition the only way of gaining a foothold in the Egyptian market.
