Egypt’s Eastern Co tobacco firm says foreign investors seeking up to 15% stake

Egypt has received several offers from foreign investors to buy up to 15.3% of the shares of state-controlled Eastern Co, the country's main tobacco products maker, the company said in a disclosure to the stock exchange on Tuesday. If it goes through, the sale would give impetus to Egypt's floundering privatisation programme and reduce the state-owned Holding Company for Chemical Industries' 50.95% stake in Eastern's shares to as little as 35.67%, according to Reuters calculations. The government sold 4.5% of Eastern Co on the stock exchange in 2019, leaving the holding company with a majority stake.