Egypt's National Cement Co goes into liquidation

Egypt's Ministry of Public Sector has announced that the National Cement Co (NCC) has fallen into liquidation. NCC's kiln lines had been shutdown since 31 May 2018.

Minister Hisham Tawfik announced that the company had lost EGP900bn (US$50bn) in the past year. The factory is also heavily in debt, owing EGP4.4bn to the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Co and EGP700m to the Egyptian Electricity Co.

In the most recent financial year, the company's losses were the highest among all public sector companies. These losses were incurred due to the high cost of production, as the cost of producing a tonne of cement is 60 per cent higher than the average cost in other competitor companies.

Moreover, the wages value in the company has reached EGP355m in 2016-17, with an annual average of EGP12,000 for a single worker. This average is double the average wage in other public sector companies.

The liquidation process has already begun. The company's enrolment in the stock market was written off in August 2018. The next step is selling NCC's stocks in the Suez Cement Co and Al-Nahda Co, which are estimated at EGP400m.

The sale of the company's land and the factory equipment will be next to pay for the workers' compensation, which is understood to be around EGP500-700m. Staff over 50 years old will receive pecuniary compensation, while younger employees will be moved to other cement companies, said Mr Tawfik.