Are Sisi’s state assets law amendments well-intentioned?
Egypt is to pass amendments to a law that would give Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi the right to transfer the ownership of state assets to Egypt’s sovereign wealth fund without facing any objections.
CAIRO — Egyptian Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala al-Saeed met Jan. 7 with Sameh Shenouda, CEO of Zarou, a wholly-owned unit by US private equity firm Blackstone, to discuss investment opportunities with Egypt's sovereign wealth fund.
The minister said that the fund is confidently moving toward attracting investments in line with the sustainable development strategy Egypt Vision 2030.
This comes as the Cabinet approved Dec. 26 amendments to the Egypt Fund Law No. 177 of 2018 on the development of state resources and exploitation of state assets.
Article 6 of the law currently in force provides that the fund aims to contribute to sustainable economic development through the management of its funds and assets. Article 5 stipulates that the president of the republic has the right to transfer the ownership of any of the unused state-owned assets to the fund. It also allows for the transfer of assets used by the state in coordination with entities that own the assets in question.
