Egypt expects to privatise two or three state-owned companies via listings on the stock exchange in the first year of a privatisation programme, the chief executive of government-owned NI Capital said on Monday. The programme will last for three to five years and will start with state-owned oil companies but will also include state-owned banks, said Ashraf El-Ghazaly. NI Capital is a government-owned, privately managed financial institution that is part the National Investment Bank.
It acts as a consulting authority for the government and manages governmental investment funds. The state owns vast swathes of the economy, including three of its largest banks along with much of its oil industry and huge parts of its real estate.