CAIRO: Egypt expects to pump LE 1.8 billion ($317 million) next fiscal year into state-run Chemical Industries Holding Company, which controls several listed firms, the state news agency MENA said on Friday.

The investments include LE 695 million for the country’s cigarette monopoly Eastern Company and LE 246 million in National Cement Company, the report said, citing Investment Minister Mahmoud Mohieldin.

Egypt’s fiscal year ends on June 30.

National Cement, one of the largest remaining cement producers with a public sector majority, produces and trades in cement, clinker and other construction materials.