Egypt’s ASEC Cement, a subsidiary of the Qalaa Holdings, is selling its entire stake in ASEC Minya and ASEC Ready Mix to Misr Cement (Qena) for £E1bn ($125m), according to a company statement on 1 November.

Qalaa Holdings said in the statement that its business unit ASEC Cement signed an agreement for the sale of its shares in subsidiaries ASEC Minya Cement and ASEC Ready Mix Company, representing 46.5 per cent and 55 per cent respectively.

Egypt is looking to boost cement production by 5 million tonnes to 6.5 million tonnes a year, in a move that will see licences issued to new factories across the country.

In 2014, cement producers suffered from gas shortages, with several plants seeing their gas supplies cut off entirely.

Due to the gas shortage, the Egyptian government granted cement companies permission to use coal as an alternative energy source, although this is still awaiting approval from the cabinet.

Earlier this month, state-owned cement producers controlled by the armed forces lowered their prices by about £E80 ($10.2), which in turn, forced private companies to also lower their prices.