Egypt’s government plans to launch $5bn worth of projects from October 2023 to June 2024, as part of a broader effort to support the private sector and boost economic growth.

Osama El Gohary, Assistant to the Prime Minister and Head of the Cabinet Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC), revealed that the government will implement a package of 27 reform measures divided into three main areas: asset sales and IPOs, attracting private sector investments, and governance and transparency.

The government aims to implement a one-year program to increase citizens’ participation in the ownership of institutions and offer opportunities to major investors.

Moreover, the government aims to implement reforms to enhance governance, transparency, and market regulation. These reforms include publishing periodic reports on tenders and auctions, activating the Competition Authority’s plan, preventing monopolistic practices, and ensuring coordination between relevant authorities.

The government is targeting various reforms to improve the investment environment and enhance the competitiveness of the Egyptian economy. This includes launching and developing an executive plan to activate the intellectual property strategy.

The report issued by the IDSC highlighted the government’s reform measures to support the private sector. It discussed measures implemented from May 2022 to September 2023 and future measures to promote private sector-led growth in Egypt.

El Gohary emphasised the government’s commitment to implementing economic and business environment reforms to overcome challenges, increase the private sector’s contribution to the GDP, create job opportunities, and boost exports. These efforts align with the “State Ownership Policy Document” and the government’s goal of achieving economic growth primarily driven by the private sector.

The total number of implemented and future reform measures supporting the private sector amounts to approximately 171 measures. Of these, 144 measures have already been implemented across six main areas, including policy flexibility, exchange rate reforms, competition enhancement, industrial sector encouragement, investment and business environment improvement, legal and regulatory reforms, and state ownership policy implementation.

A significant portion of these measures focused on encouraging the industrial sector (46 measures) supporting investment and improving the business environment (40 measures). These two areas accounted for 60% of the total implemented reform measures.

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