(Ecofin Agency) - Egyptian Oil Minister, Tarek El-Molla has announced that the country’s energy subsidies for the 2015 to 2016 financial year will reach between $5.07 billion and 5.41 billion.

He said the government is currently looking to list four public sector oil companies on the Cairo stock exchange before September 2016, Reuters reports.

The country’s Finance Minister, Amr al-Garhy, last month said Egypt will cut subsidies on petroleum products by nearly 43% in the 2016/2017 budget.

According to him, Energy subsidies will drop from about 61 billion Egyptian pounds in the 2015/16 fiscal year to 35 billion Egyptian pounds in 2016/17.

On the other hand, the deputy finance minister for fiscal policy, Ahmed Kojak, highlighted that most of the subsidy cuts will be accounted for by the fall in global oil prices. This means that the subsidy cut will not have as bad an effect on consumers as at when the prices were high.

“Most of the savings in petroleum product subsidies will be a result of lower global oil prices. There is also a saving of about 8-10 billion (Egyptian) pounds that will come as a result of new reforms that the Petroleum Ministry will outline in agreement with us,” he added.

Energy subsidies have for a long time been a thing of debate in Egypt since millions rely on low-cost energy products, while the state loses millions annually by selling energy below market prices.

Anita Fatunji