CAIRO — Serious and swift actions to integrate the shadow economy in the official one are being made in Egypt. Prominent officials at the Ministry of Finance revealed May 6 that during its May 6-20 visit to Egypt the International Monetary Fund mission revises the reports on the performance of the Egyptian economy, including the government’s plan to integrate the informal sector into the formal economy.

Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait said during a May 7 press conference at the ministry’s headquarters that the Egyptian government has finalized the drafting of a bill regulating micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to ensure the integration of the informal economy into Egypt’s official one.

A well-informed source at the Ministry of Finance, who declined to be named, told Al-Monitor that the government will submit the bill to parliament soon to allow the latter to discuss and ratify the bill, whether as is or after adding amendments. The source refrained from giving further information.

The shadow economy refers to all business activities and enterprises — mostly micro, small and medium-sized enterprises — that operate under the state’s radar, contrary to the laws in force and without declared profits calculated in the gross domestic product (GDP). Thus, they are neither subjected to quality control nor tax supervision. A shadow economy is common in developing countries such as Egypt, and mostly includes restaurants, street food carts, street vendors, vendors in informal markets and unlicenced factories.