Egypt’s PM reviews state-owned company restructuring, IPO plans, ownership policy update

Egypt’s cabinet reviews state company overhaul, IPO preparations and ownership policy update

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly chaired a government meeting on Sunday at the New Administrative Capital to review progress on restructuring state-owned companies, planned stock market listings and updates to the State Ownership Policy Document. The session was attended by Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Hussein Eissa and Hashem El-Sayed, assistant to the prime minister and CEO of the Cabinet’s State-Owned Companies Unit.

“A specialised team is finalising the updated version and coordinating with relevant ministries to incorporate their feedback,” Hussein Eissa said, summarising work on the State Ownership Policy Document and signalling the next steps for inter-ministerial alignment.

The meeting covered several parallel reform tracks. On capital markets, Eissa reviewed the status of companies temporarily listed on the Egyptian Exchange, saying that “initial listings are being prepared ahead of final registration.” The government is also moving forward with plans to transfer 40 selected state-owned companies to the Sovereign Fund of Egypt, with “procedures currently underway to ensure a smooth handover process,” according to Eissa.

Hashem El-Sayed explained the rationale behind the sovereign fund transfers, noting that the chosen firms “hold strong competitive positions in their respective sectors.” He added that coordination with the Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation is ongoing to ready the fund for efficient asset management.

• Restructuring will proceed on two main tracks: one targeting six major authorities and another covering 14 additional authorities.
• The six major authorities include the Agricultural Development and Reconstruction Authority, the National Media Authority, the New Urban Communities Authority, the Supply Commodities Authority, and the Railway and Metro Authorities.
• Of the 14 additional authorities, seven are slated for merger and seven will be converted into public authorities, with implementation mechanisms currently being defined.

Participants also discussed macroeconomic coordination. Eissa reported recent talks with the Central Bank of Egypt that “focused on positive economic indicators and measures aimed at curbing inflation, maintaining stable prices for essential goods, and supporting sustainable growth.” Madbouly stressed ongoing oversight of key economic portfolios, underlining the role of Eissa in monitoring implementation of directives related to state-owned companies and economic authorities.

Madbouly framed the initiatives as part of a larger reform push, saying they are “central to Egypt’s economic reform agenda and instrumental in enhancing the performance of key economic indicators.” The comments underscore the government’s emphasis on combining corporate restructuring, capital-market activity and sovereign-fund asset management as complementary tools to improve state enterprise performance and attract private investment.

Looking ahead, officials indicated that the immediate priorities are finalising the State Ownership Policy Document, completing initial listings and registrations for companies headed to the Egyptian Exchange, and completing the administrative and legal steps to transfer the 40 firms into the Sovereign Fund of Egypt. Implementation mechanisms for the authority mergers and conversions remain under development as ministries feed into the process.