AMOC will offer 20 per cent of its 86.1 million shares at a price between £E 45 ($7.90) and £E 50 ($8.70) a share, in two equal tranches. Under the first tranche, AMOC plans to sell off 10 per cent of its shares to small investors with a minimum subscription of 10 shares and a maximum subscription of 1,000 shares. The second tranche will be a private placement, offering a minimum of 50,000 shares and a maximum of 350,000. If the subscriptions are covered within 10 days, the transaction will close early, with trading to start on 28 September.

'AMOC is a profitable company and, due to the high oil price, the offering comes at a good time,' says Ahmed el-Ashram, an analyst at the local HC Brokerage. 'We expect the transaction to be oversubscribed.'

National Bank of Egypt (NBE)and Commercial International Brokerage Company (CIBC)are AMOC's financial advisers on the transaction.

The principal investors in AMOC include Alexandria Petroleum Company, Misr Petroleum Company, Misr Bank, NBE, Misr Insurance Company, the Social Insurance Ministry and El-Shark Insurance Company.

AMOC is among the smallest refiners in the country, accounting for only 2 per cent of Egypt's total refinery output. However, the company operates two modern complexes, a gas-oil facility completed in 2002 and a lube oil complex completed in mid-2004.

The next energy company lined up for part-privatisation is Midor, which is expected to go to market in late 2005 or early 2006. Midor accounts for about 16 per cent of Egypt's refining output. Oil exploration company TharwaPetroleum Company has also announced plans to go public (MEED 26:8:05).