The State Ownership Policy, a nationwide framework developed by the Government, aims to (i) strategize and optimize private sector involvement across sectors, aligning with the overarching Vision for sustained growth; and (ii) complement state reforms fostering the private sector's role and creating an investment-friendly environment. In its initial phase, the Policy focuses on state-owned assets, including entities like public sector companies, economic bodies, and those affiliated with the Armed Forces in economic activities, with the goal of facilitating optimal implementation in subsequent stages. The Egyptian Government employs diverse mechanisms to implement the State Ownership Policy for Public Assets, emphasizing private sector engagement, economic benefits, market liberalization, competitiveness, and profitability, guided by international best practices and specialized expertise. The Policy seeks to achieve key objectives, including (i) fostering economic growth with a target investment rate of 25-30%, aiming for 7-9% economic growth to create jobs; (ii) empowering the private sector across economic activities to enhance contributions to GDP, investments, employment, exports, and government revenues; (iii) strategically involving the state in key sectors where the private sector is hesitant, improving the business environment; (iv) enhancing governance in economic activities by transitioning to managing state capital with specific criteria and exit mechanisms; and (v) ensuring fiscal sustainability to support the public budget, enforce discipline, and fortify the economy against crises. The document introduces a methodology based on six criteria, such as national security and profitability, guiding the state's role in economic activities: Exit, Maintaining or Reducing Presence, and Maintaining or Increasing Presence, with a focus on strategic and social factors and private sector involvement. Regarding the water sector, proposed interventions involve the State's planned withdrawal from activities like desalination-based drinking water production and sewage-related sludge-to-energy projects, aligning with the State Ownership Policy to exit saturated markets. The State aims to either maintain or reduce its involvement in various water and sewage activities, encouraging private sector participation for increased efficiency. Conversely, it plans to sustain or increase its presence in surface water-based drinking water production stations, aiming to influence crucial sectors where the private sector might hesitate to enter, thus enhancing the business environment. In the land sector, interventions include the State's engagement in land reclamation and irrigation projects to expand agricultural areas, ensure food security, and boost the agricultural sector's export share, creating new job opportunities. The State collaborates with the private sector in specific aspects of land reclamation, utilizing innovative technologies to address water scarcity and explore new markets for Egyptian agricultural exports. Additionally, the State intends to exit certain agricultural activities, such as horticultural and field crops, fish farming, aquaculture, and forestation, while maintaining or reducing its presence in fisheries, livestock, and dairy. The document underscores the importance of investing in economic activities, proposing Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) for infrastructure projects, offering state-owned assets on the Egyptian Exchange, and injecting new private sector investments into existing state-owned assets. The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE) plays a crucial role in implementing the state ownership policy, attracting investments across sectors such as banking, agriculture, manufacturing, education, and health to maximize state asset revenue.
مصر · 2022-12-01