Egypt Stresses Commitment to Privatization Plans

Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly (center) and Assem El-Gazzar, Minister of Housing (right) listen to an explanation by an official of a cosmetics company in Egypt. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly (center) and Assem El-Gazzar, Minister of Housing (right) listen to an explanation by an official of a cosmetics company in Egypt. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Egypt Stresses Commitment to Privatization Plans

Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly (center) and Assem El-Gazzar, Minister of Housing (right) listen to an explanation by an official of a cosmetics company in Egypt. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly (center) and Assem El-Gazzar, Minister of Housing (right) listen to an explanation by an official of a cosmetics company in Egypt. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said on Saturday that Egypt would fulfill its financial obligations and would not abandon its privatization program.

In a press conference, he noted that larger stakes in government companies would be offered for sale, stressing that the delay in implementing the privatization program was due to the government’s keenness to secure the best return from the sale.

“We are moving forward with the program strongly, and we will not back down from it,” the premier emphasized.

Madbouly revealed that Egypt aims to achieve $2 billion from the offerings plan before the end of June, adding that the Egyptian Sovereign Fund was managing the offerings and negotiating with all investment parties.

The Egyptian Cabinet announced last month that the government would start the executive procedures for the offering program, which includes listing a number of government companies on the stock exchange or selling shares to strategic investors.

The spokesman for the Egyptian government, Nader Saad, said consensus was reached among cabinet members to start the procedures for offering the “Wataniya” and “Safi” companies as part of the IPOs program.

In February, Madbouly announced plans to sell stakes in at least 32 companies by the end of March 2024, as part of the state’s efforts to support and encourage the private sector, which would increase its contribution to the Egyptian economy and increase foreign capital.

These measures are expected to support the Egyptian Stock Exchange, which witnessed a remarkable recovery this year.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian Minister of Finance, Mohamed Maait, met with Manal Corwin, the Director of the OECD Center for Tax Policy and Administration, on the sidelines of their participation in the joint annual meetings of Arab financial bodies, in Rabat.

Corwin expressed OECD’s commitment to continue supporting international tax reforms in Egypt, and to build on long-term cooperation, praising the Egyptian measures aimed at addressing tax challenges related to the global trend towards the digital economy.



Gazans Shed Tears of Joy, Disbelief at News of Ceasefire Deal

Palestinians react to news of a ceasefire agreement with Israel, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
Palestinians react to news of a ceasefire agreement with Israel, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
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Gazans Shed Tears of Joy, Disbelief at News of Ceasefire Deal

Palestinians react to news of a ceasefire agreement with Israel, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
Palestinians react to news of a ceasefire agreement with Israel, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, 15 January 2025. (EPA)

Palestinians burst into celebration across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday at news of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, with some shedding tears of joy and others whistling and clapping and chanting "God is greatest".

"I am happy, yes, I am crying, but those are tears of joy," said Ghada, a mother of five displaced from her home in Gaza City during the 15-month-old conflict.

"We are being reborn, with every hour of delay Israel conducted a new massacre, I hope it is all getting over now," she told Reuters via a chat app from a shelter in Deir al-Balah town in central Gaza.

Youths beat tambourines, blew horns and danced in the street in Khan Younis in the southern part of the enclave minutes after hearing news of the agreement struck in the Qatari capital Doha. The deal outlines a six-week initial ceasefire phase and includes the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

The accord also provides for the release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian detainees held by Israel, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters.

For some, delight was mingled with sorrow.

Ahmed Dahman, 25, said the first thing he would do when the deal goes into effect is to recover the body of his father, who was killed in an airstrike on the family's house last year, and "give him a proper burial."

'A DAY OF HAPPINESS AND SADNESS'

"I feel a mixture of happiness because lives are being saved and blood is being stopped," said Dahman, who like Ghada was displaced from Gaza City and lives in Deir al-Balah.

"But I am also worried about the post-war shock of what we will see in the streets, our destroyed homes, my father whose body is still under the rubble."

His mother, Bushra, said that while the ceasefire wouldn't bring her husband back, "at least it may save other lives."

"I will cry, like never before. This brutal war didn't give us time to cry," said the tearful mother, speaking to Reuters by a chat app.

Iman Al-Qouqa, who lives with her family in a nearby tent, was still in disbelief.

"This is a day of happiness, and sadness, a shock and joy, but certainly it is a day we all must cry and cry long because of what we all lost. We did not lose friends, relatives, and homes only, we lost our city, Israel sent us back in history because of its brutal war," she told Reuters.

"It is time the world comes back into Gaza, focuses on Gaza, and rebuilds it," said Qouqa.

Israeli troops invaded Gaza after Hamas-led gunmen broke through security barriers and burst into Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 soldiers and civilians and abducting more than 250 foreign and Israeli hostages. Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed more than 46,000 people, according to Gaza health ministry figures, and left the coastal enclave a wasteland, with many thousands living in makeshift shelters.