Egypt burnishes military-owned businesses for market, but little will change
It appears that the military has concluded that some degree of transparency is tolerable in exchange for access to capital through the sale of equity
After several years of aggressive expansion by military-owned businesses, Egyptian officials say change is on the way. The country’s new sovereign wealth fund is preparing a number of these companies to sell equity to private investors and potentially shares on the Egyptian Stock Exchange. The fund reportedly intends to invest in the companies itself.
Minister of planning Hala El-Saeed has said the sale of military companies would mark a “historic shift in how Egypt’s economy is structured.” But the shift may be less dramatic than advertised. The ultimate result could be to deepen the private sector’s dependence on government-led growth, extending the trend of the past several years...
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