Egypt Sells $1.9B in State Company Stakes To Boost Struggling Private Sector

Steven Ganot

07/12/2023

The Egyptian government announced on Tuesday the sale of $1.9 billion worth of stakes in state-owned companies in an effort to revitalize its ailing private sector. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said the sales, which include shares in the large state-owned Telecom Egypt, total $1.65 billion and an equivalent of $250 million in Egyptian pounds. Madbouly did not detail how many companies were involved or when the deals were completed. Among the transactions, Abu Dhabi Development Holding Co. bought stakes ranging from 25% to 30% in chemical company Elab, petrochemical firm Ethdyco, and petroleum company Egyptian Drilling Company for $800 million. The sales are part of a broader reform to privatize at least 32 state-owned entities, aiming to reduce Egypt’s public sector. This plan, launched in January, is crucial to the implementation of a $3 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund that Egypt secured last December. The bailout is designed to assist Egypt’s economy, struggling with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has severely depreciated the Egyptian pound and caused rampant inflation.