In Egypt, state-owned companies bottle water, make dry pasta and cement, and run gas stations and fish farms. The government said it started to sell stakes in March in some of the 32 state-owned companies it’s promised to privatize, from petrochemical firms to banks. They said the contracts offered by state firms can’t be negotiated and payments arrive months too late. One entrepreneur started a waste management business in 2019 but found that a state company proved too large of a competitor and too unequal of a partner. It is yet to be seen who will buy shares in state-owned companies including Banque Du Caire, one of Egypt’s largest banks, and gasoline company Wataniya.

Source: The North Africa Journal April 12, 2023 11:55 UTC