Egypt dangles investor incentive with offer of army-held firms

Egypt is moving ahead with another measure to attract sorely-needed foreign investments by offering stakes in some military-held firms.

Under a plan officially announced Monday, investors will be given the chance to hold a majority stake in select companies held by the National Service Projects Organization, which is affiliated with the Defence Ministry. Egypt’s sovereign fund will also hold a stake in the enterprise, the fund’s chief executive officer, Ayman Soliman, said.

The new steps would effectively mean that the military relinquishing control of the firms to the fund and the investors, giving both parties full ownership.

Egypt Wealth Fund Seeks Co-Investors for Some Army-Linked Assets

The measure is the latest by the government as it pushes ahead with a sweeping economic program launched in 2016. The focus, now that economic growth has markedly rebounded since it largely stalled after the 2011 uprising against Hosni Mubarak, is to attract foreign investments and boost private sector growth.

President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi had suggested that military-run firms could be offered to investors, and the tapping of the country’s newly established sovereign fund to steer the program aims to give new impetus to the effort.