Egypt's partial privatization efforts will somewhat reduce the government and the military's role in the economy, and boost private sector engagement and market competition. However, increasing foreign currency reserves will grant Cairo flexibility in both the timeline and the extent of its privatization efforts. The International Monetary Fund, or IMF, announced on Dec. 24 that it had reached a staff-level agreement with Egypt to disburse $1.2 billion after completing the fourth review of the country's expanded $8 billion program. To unlock the disbursement, Cairo agreed to meet the fund's conditions, including accelerating its ongoing privatization efforts to decrease the government and military's role in the economy. As part of this privatization push, the Central Bank of Egypt on Dec. 3 finalized the sale of 30% of its stake in the state-owned United Bank. The sale marked Egypt's first IPO since 2021, and the second time in four years that the...
