Is the government about to tap the private sector to run its retail outlets for subsidized goods?

Is the government looking to hire the private sector to run retail outlets for state-subsidized goods? The Supply Ministry is just a week away from finalizing the template of a contract that will outline its future partnerships with the private sector on the development and management of state-controlled food retail outlets, ministry spokesman Ahmed Kamal tells Al Mal. 10 privately-owned hypermarket retail chains, including Carrefour, Spinney’s and Metro have already approached the Ministry about the possibility of being contracted to upgrade and operate outlets where subsidized commodities are sold, he adds, refusing to disclose any more detail. Minister Ali El Moselhy had met with executives from various retail chains last week to discuss the framework for their potential partnership, Kamal added. We noted last month that the House of Representatives was looking to amend existing laws on state cooperatives, with the aim of creating one unifying legislation to govern the different types of outlets that sell subsidized commodities.