Egypt continues with privatization

Dr. Atef Ebeid, the minister of public enterprises in Egypt, announced that 80 companies, representing 20% of the total number of public sector companies (314 companies), have been sold since the commencement of the privatization program, whether the sale was processed totally or partially, amounting to 7.9 billion Egyptian pounds.

He stated that he expects the sales volume to reach 18 billion pounds in the navigation, sugar and aluminum sectors.

In spite of the extra employment, 260 public sector companies achieved 1.97 billion pounds as a net profit.

He confirmed that the external debt of $28.6 billion is not a burden on the Egyptian economy, among which is made up of 90% mid - and long-term loans and 10% short-term loans, indicating that 80% of the debt volume has an interest rate that varies between 0.75% and 5%.

Atef Ebeid also that the International Monetary Fund's last report praised the performance of Egyptian banks.

He said, "The government considers selling some of the unsuccessful companies through evaluating their cash value, and through evaluating land and buildings' value then offering it to serious investors."