Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) plans to spin off its engineering and building business from its fertilisers and chemicals' unit next month, the Amsterdam-listed firm said.

The demerger will take place on March 7, the company said in a statement. OCI will remain listed on the Euronext Amsterdam exchange, while Orascom Construction, which also includes the engineering operations, will feature on the thinly-traded Nasdaq Dubai and the EGX, Cairo's main bourse.

Orascom Construction was a blue-chip stock on the Cairo exchange as recently as 2013 but was forced to delist due to taxes and new regulations introduced by the administration of former president Mohamed Morsi.

The move could rejuvenate Egypt's listings market after a popular uprising in 2011 hampered the economy and left it to manage a hard currency crisis that prevented foreign investors from repatriating profits.

Orascom said it believed the demerger would attract additional investment for both companies and create a clearer business structure, while also allowing them to pursue partnerships and joint ventures.

OCI will focus on production of natural gas-based fertilisers.

The demerger will take place through a $1.4 billion reduction in OCI's share capital whereby OCI shareholders will receive one Orascom Construction share for every two shares they own in the fertiliser unit as of March 6. That date is subject to regulatory approval.

Simultaneously, Orascom Construction will offer up to 15.8 million new ordinary shares, which represent up to 15 per cent of the new shares to be listed in Egypt.

These will be offered to retail and institutional investors through a private placement conditional on approvals from the Egypt exchange and regulator.

A subscription period for institutional investors will take place between February 19 to 26, at the end of which the offer price for shares will be set, while subscription for retail investors will be between March 1 to 4.

EFG Hermes will act as sponsor of the process and global co-ordinator of the Egyptian share sale, with Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, Barclays and HSBC acting as joint financial advisers.

Egypt's CI Capital and HSBC are joint bookrunners for the share sale, with Rabobank acting as financial adviser to the Dutch company.-Reuters