Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris has reportedly sold a 44% stake he owns in Ariab Mining Company to the Government of Sudan for $100 million.
According to a Reuters report, the Sudanese government has already paid $50 million and plans to pay the rest within the next four months. With this acquisition, the government now has full control and ownership of the mining firm.
Speaking to Reuters, Sudan’s minister of mining, Ahmed Sadiq al-Karour, said the government will offer the new shares in the firm, which owns and operates gold mines, to the private sector to encourage investment in the sector.
Gold mining is now one of Sudan’s major exports and income earners ever since the country lost three quarters of its oil production – its most important source of revenue, when South Sudan split off to become an independent country in 2011. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has been making significant efforts to boost the country’s gold mining industry. He opened the country’s first gold refinery in September 2012. It has the capacity to produce more than 328 tonnes of gold annually.
Telecoms tycoon Naguib Sawiris is the 3rd richest person in Egypt with a fortune FORBES estimates at $3.1 billion. He acquired the stake in Ariab Mining from the French government in 2012.