Egypt to sell state-owned firms amid economic crisis
Ten of Egypt's largest state-owned companies will be listed this year on the stock exchange, while others will be sold in the coming years as the government tries to attract foreign investors to relieve economic hardships.
CAIRO — Egypt will list 10 of its largest state-owned and military-owned companies on the stock exchange by the end of this year, and several other assets will be sold over the next four years in order to attract foreign investors and also alleviate the current economic hardships.
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly gave a lengthy press conference May 15, describing the current crisis as the worst in a century. "The [Ukraine] war repercussions have put a heavy burden on us financially. We expect 130 billion pounds [$7.1 billion] of immediate impacts, as well as 335 billion pounds [$18.3 billion] of indirect effects as a result of increased prices for commodities like wheat, oil and even interest rates," he said.
He stated that as a direct consequence of the war, there was an outflow of billions of dollars or "hot money" from Egypt, causing the government to devalue the currency by 17%. But the Gulf states have helped Egypt cope by pledging $22 billion in investments.
Even so, Egypt still faces a budget deficit of $20 billion, a debt-to-GDP ratio of 85% and high prices for major commodities imported. The Egyptian government will spend $4.4 billion on wheat this year, up from $2.7 billion last year after the Russian invasion of Ukraine raised wheat prices. According to Madbouly, a rise in oil prices will also cost the state $11.2 billion instead of $6.7 billion to buy 100 million barrels.
