STORY: Egypt sells state-owned companies worth 1.9 bln USD to private sector: PM
DATELINE: July 12, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:02
LOCATION: Cairo
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the exterior of the Egyptian Cabinet
2. Egypt's PM Mostafa Madbouly speaking
3. various of the Egypt's Stock Exchange headquarters in Cairo

STORYLINE:

The Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Tuesday that the government has so far signed contracts worth 1.9 billion U.S. dollars with the private sector to sell stakes in state-owned companies.

The government will soon announce another batch of deals worth 1 billion dollars, Madbouly said during a press conference in Egypt's New Administrative Capital just outside Cairo.

The selling of the state-owned entities is part of an Egyptian program launched by the government in January.

Madbouly said that most of the companies were sold to the private sector in a bid to boost the country's private sector.

He added that the state would completely exit some sectors in favor of the private sector, denying the move's links to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or any other international institution.

The IMF approved in December last year a loan to Egypt of about 3 billion dollars over 46 months to support the country's economic reform program, hoping it would pave the way for "sustainable, inclusive and private-sector-led growth."

The IMF asked the Egyptian government to permanently shift to "a flexible exchange rate regime" and reduce "the state footprint" in the economy as part of the reforms.

Meanwhile, Madbouly said the government aims to increase commodity exports by 20 percent annually, tourism revenues by 20 percent annually, and foreign direct investment by 10 percent annually within 3 years.

He stressed that the government set the total revenue target at about 191 billion dollars by 2026.

The Egyptian pound has lost half its value against the dollar since March 2022. The devaluation of the currency has led to a foreign currency shortage and delays in import delivery.

The country's economic crisis has been worsened by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict that has destabilized the global food supply chains.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Cairo.
(XHTV)