Company: Egyptian Iron & Steel
Country: Egypt
Sector: Steel
CEO: Not publicly listed
Website: http://www.hadisolb.com
Careers Page: Not publicly listed
LinkedIn: Not publicly listed
Email: Not publicly listed
Headquarters: Helwan (Al-Tibbin district), Cairo, Egypt
Founded: 1954 (established by presidential decree under Gamal Abdel Nasser; production began 1957-58)
Valuation/Revenue: $343.1m market value (African Business Top 250, 2025); company in formal liquidation since January 2021, with liquidation account approved with an EGP 79.8m surplus (Al Borsa News, April 2026)
Egyptian Iron & Steel Company, widely known by its Arabic acronym Hadisolb, was Egypt’s first integrated steelmaker, built in Helwan in the 1950s. It has not produced steel since mid-2021: shareholders voted in January 2021 to liquidate the company after decades of losses, and as of 2026 it remains an EGX-listed shell company under an extended, multi-year formal liquidation process rather than an operating industrial business.
What Did Egyptian Iron & Steel Do?
Hadisolb was established as an integrated steel complex, Egypt’s and the Arab world’s first, producing pig iron, crude steel and finished steel products from blast furnaces at its Helwan site south of Cairo. It began production in 1957-58 with German-supplied blast furnaces, expanded output through Soviet technical cooperation from 1961 and a later partnership with Germany’s Krupp in 1986, reaching peak annual production of about 1.5 million tons in the 1970s. The company became a subsidiary of Egypt’s state-run Holding Company for Metallic Industries in 1991.
Is Egyptian Iron & Steel Still Operating?
No, not as an industrial producer. Accumulated losses of roughly EGP 9 billion led shareholders at an extraordinary general assembly to approve liquidation on 11 January 2021, and production ceased on 1 June 2021, a closure that affected around 7,500 workers and triggered legal challenges and worker protests, according to Marefa’s history of the company. The liquidation process has since been repeatedly extended: Egyptian financial press (CNBC Arabia, Amwal Al Ghad and Al Borsa News) reported that shareholders approved extending the liquidation into 2027, and that as of an April/May 2026 general assembly, the company’s liquidation account was approved showing a surplus of roughly EGP 79.8 million, with management clarifying the status of asset sales, land holdings and outstanding contracts to shareholders. In short, Hadisolb today exists primarily as a legal and financial wind-down process, not an active steel producer.
Who Owns Egyptian Iron & Steel?
The company is majority state-owned, with approximately 89.99% held by Egypt’s Holding Company for Metallic Industries, and the remainder distributed among public institutions including the Ministry of Finance and various state-linked banks and insurers, according to Marefa. Its shares (ticker IRON) continued to trade on the Egyptian Exchange even after production ceased, reflecting the residual value of its land, other assets and liquidation proceeds rather than any ongoing manufacturing business.
How Old Is Egyptian Iron & Steel?
The company was founded by presidential decree on 14 June 1954 with initial capital of EGP 2.1 million, making it more than 70 years old, though it has now spent roughly five years in formal liquidation.
How Big Is Egyptian Iron & Steel?
African Business’s 2025 Top 250 listed the company with a market value of around $343.1 million, and it has also appeared in Forbes Middle East’s 2026 ranking of Egypt’s 50 most valuable companies, reflecting EGX-listed market capitalization rather than any operating industrial scale. Given that the company has been non-operational since June 2021 and is now working through a formal liquidation account, prospective researchers and investors should treat any “market value” figure as reflecting residual/liquidation asset value and stock speculation, not ongoing business performance.
Is Egyptian Iron & Steel Publicly Traded?
Yes, its shares continue to trade on the Egyptian Exchange under ticker IRON, even though the underlying company is in liquidation, which is a notable anomaly researchers should be aware of when encountering this stock in market-cap rankings.
What Has Egyptian Iron & Steel Been in the News For Recently?
Nearly all recent coverage concerns the liquidation process: extensions of the liquidation timeline (into 2027 as of a September 2025 shareholder vote), disclosures about land sales and outstanding contracts, and approval of a liquidation account showing a modest surplus in spring 2026. This marks a major status change from the company’s historic profile as Egypt’s founding integrated steel producer.
Where Is Egyptian Iron & Steel Headquartered?
Its historic plant and registered office are in the Al-Tibbin district of Helwan, on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt.
Links
Website: http://www.hadisolb.com
Careers Page: Not found
LinkedIn: Not found
Email: Not publicly listed
FAQ
Is Egyptian Iron & Steel Company still in business? No. It ceased steel production in June 2021 and has been in formal, court/shareholder-approved liquidation since January 2021, with the process extended into at least 2027.
Who owns Egyptian Iron & Steel? The Egyptian state, primarily through the Holding Company for Metallic Industries (about 90%), with the remainder held by other state-linked institutions.
Why did Egyptian Iron & Steel shut down? Accumulated losses of roughly EGP 9 billion led shareholders to vote for liquidation in January 2021.
Is Egyptian Iron & Steel stock still traded? Yes, its shares (ticker IRON) still trade on the Egyptian Exchange despite the company being in liquidation.
How old is Egyptian Iron & Steel? Founded in 1954, it was Egypt’s first integrated steel complex.
Where was Egyptian Iron & Steel located? Helwan, on the southern outskirts of Cairo, Egypt.