Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has directed to intensify efforts to attract more foreign investments and enhance the role of the private sector in the country's economy, according to an official statement released on Sunday.
The directives were given during a meeting with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Hassan Abdullah, the acting governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).
The meeting aimed to review the global and local economic indicators as well as the performance of Egypt's banking sector.
During the meeting, Abdullah presented an overview of several new decisions enacted by the CBE that will take effect from 1 January 2024. One notable decision is exempting customers from all fees and commissions associated with electronic bank transfer services for individuals in Egyptian pounds.
These decisions aim to encourage citizens to utilize digital financial services, enabling faster and more flexible financial transactions, which aligns with Egypt's digital transformation and financial inclusion strategy, Abdullah said.
El-Sisi further emphasized the importance of intensifying efforts to provide the necessary resources for the development process, especially in priority sectors.
The president's directives are consistent with the government's broader agenda of improving overall economic indicators, diversifying the production structure, and creating attractive opportunities to attract investments, read the statement.
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Notably, Egypt is actively seeking foreign investments, with a focus on Gulf nations, to promote economic recovery and meet its obligations under the $3 billion loan agreement signed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2022.
To attract more investors, the government has launched its Initial Public Offering (IPO) programme, intending to offer 35 state-owned companies to strategic investors by the end of June 2024, as outlined in the State Ownership Policy Document.
The initial list of 32 companies was released in February, and three additional companies - Eastern Company, Al Ezz Dekheila, and Telecom Egypt - were added later in 2023.
Furthermore, the government intends to foster greater participation from the private sector and increase its contribution to the national economy from the current 30 percent to 65 percent in the coming years.
Last week, Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait said that the country's private sector is poised to drive economic recovery and foster growth in the country throughout 2024.
Egypt has already secured $2.1 billion in concessional financing for the private sector from international partners since the beginning of 2023, Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat said in August.
