The Madbouly Government is kicking off the year with a plan to add 13 new companies to its privatization program, two senior government officials tell EnterpriseAM. The plan also includes a selldown of stakes owned by state-owned banks in government-related companies and taking other companies public.

Spearheading these efforts is a newly-formed prime ministerial committee that will soon start working on updating Cabinet’s state ownership policy.

Progress here is critical to keeping the IMF happy — and to signal to the business community that officials are serious about seeing the private-sector lead economic growth. As we’ve previously reported, slow progress on the privatization file has long been a sticking point in relations with the IMF as we speed toward the wrap-up of our USD 8 bn assistance program this fall.

AND- Proceeds from the privatization program would help shore up FX reserves, where officials have set a goal of building a USD 55-56 bn war chest before the end of the program.

What can you expect? Officials will kick the tires of public sector enterprises and their assets, including a large land portfolio estimated at around 2 mn square meters, as the government prepares to offer minority stakes ranging from 10-40% either to strategic investors or through the bourse, our sources said. The National Investment Bank (NIB) has been tasked with coordinating these offers, the sources added.

Our perpetual caveat: Few operators or financial investors are interested in being minority partners with the state. Cabinet will need to put majority stakes on offer if it’s serious about getting out of the economy.

Consolidation for value: The government plans to merge companies with overlapping activities to reduce operational losses and trim financial entanglements, according to the source.

A new census: An internal government audit revealed that of the 561 state-owned companies, 364 are currently profitable.

IN CONTEXT: The NIB alone holds stakes in 85 companies across sectors including petrochemicals, pharma, manufacturing, and housing. State-owned giants including NBE and Banque Misr have countless others on their balance sheets.

Where the money will go: The proceeds are intended to settle outstanding financial entanglements and improve the financial positions of these companies.

What’s next: A final draft of the updated policy is expected to see the light by June 2026.

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