Egypt green-lights sweeping privatization strategy following IMF agreement
The plan defines the contours of the state’s future participation in the economy, including those activities it plans to exit, to increase the contribution of the private sector.
CAIRO — After more than half a year in the making, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi finally approved at the end of December a strategic program drawn up by the government that sets out the economic sectors from which the state plans to withdraw in the coming years, and those in which it intends to increase or reduce its involvement.
The State Ownership Policy document, which seeks to define the contours of public sector presence in the Egyptian economy, is primarily aimed at creating an attractive and conducive environment for the country's stagnant private sector to expand and attracting local and foreign investments, at a time when the nation is facing a deep economic crisis.
