Egypt is seeking technical cooperation with the World Bank to activate its state-owned enterprises (SOE) unit and implement new legislation designed to increase private sector participation in the economy, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat said.
In a meeting with World Bank Country Director Stefan Gimbert and International Finance Corporation (IFC) Regional Director Cheick-Oumar Sylla, Al-Mashat discussed technical support to enhance the SOE unit’s executive role in line with international best practices. The discussions focused on sharing global governance experiences and improving the efficiency of the unit’s technical staff.
Ashraf Shoukry, deputy head of the SOE unit, said Law No. 170 of 2025, which regulates state ownership in companies, mandates the unit to establish and monitor restructuring programmes within binding timelines. This framework is intended to support the State Ownership Policy and propose legal structures to improve corporate performance.
Al-Mashat stated that the government’s development strategy intends to redefine the state’s economic involvement. “The state is gradually transforming into a regulator and enabler that sets the general framework and creates an environment conducive to private sector investment,” she said.
The minister noted that this vision is being implemented through the integration of three entities: the SOE unit under the Cabinet, the Sovereign Fund of Egypt, and the Government IPO unit. She described the State Ownership Policy as the primary reference for determining the extent of state intervention across various sectors.
Egypt was the first country in the region to adopt a State Ownership Policy and recently ratified Law No. 170 of 2025 as a core component of its national structural reform programme. Al-Mashat said the policy, first launched in 2022 to reduce state presence in competitive sectors and increase transparency, is currently being updated to reflect recent economic developments.
The minister added that state-owned companies continue to play a pivotal role in strategic sectors, but the new legal and strategic frameworks aim to ensure market equality and expand private sector partnerships.
