Abu Dhabi fund ADQ buys stakes in Egypt's Commercial International Bank, Fawry

Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund ADQ said it acquired stakes in five key companies in Egypt, including Commercial International Bank (Egypt) SAE and Fawry for Banking Technology and Electronic Payments SAE, as part of the United Arab Emirates' efforts to help fuel the North African nation's economic growth.

ADQ, formerly known as Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Co. PJSC, announced the purchases in an April 13 statement but did not specify the size or value of the stakes.

ADQ purchased 340.1 million shares in CIB for $911.5 million and 215.1 million shares in Fawry for $68.6 million, as well as a rights issue for a further 201.6 million shares in the digital payments company worth $54.9 million, Reuters reported April 12.

State-owned National Bank of Egypt said the same day that it reduced its stake in CIB to 0.336% from 9.504%, having sold 181.8 million shares in the private bank for $487.1 million, the newswire noted, citing a statement from NBE.

ADQ's stake acquisitions are part of a $2 billion investment deal, sources told Bloomberg News in March.

The transactions mark the latest move by Gulf nations to help prop up the Egyptian economy, which has been impacted by ripple effects of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In March, Saudi Arabia made a $5 billion deposit in Egypt's central bank, with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia pledging to provide additional funds to attract $10 billion in investments, while Qatar has committed to pump $5 billion into new investments in Egypt, Reuters noted.