40pc of Alba for sale

MANAMA: Bahrain plans to sell up to 40 per cent of Alba in an initial public offering, chairman Essam Fakhro said yesterday.

The government-held firm and the Finance Ministry, which will be responsible for the sale, said it was too early to give a size for the stake that would be offered in the IPO. Alba produces 830,000 tonnes of aluminium per year.

Mr Fakhro said the government, which owns 77pc, had not yet decided on a timetable.

"The expected percentage of the firm to be offered by the government will be roughly 30 to 40pc, but no timeline has yet been set," he said.

Mr Fakhro also said Alba was going to expand in response to increasing aluminium consumption, which he said was growing at 4pc a year.