Egypt has asked the International Monetary Fund/IMF to postpone its state asset sale program until the first quarter of 2026, citing weakened investor appetite due to ongoing regional instability, according to a senior Finance Ministry official who spoke to Al Manassa.
The request was made during preliminary talks Wednesday between IMF technical staff and senior Egyptian officials, part of the fifth and sixth reviews under Cairo’s Extended Fund Facility/EFF. A full IMF delegation is expected to arrive in mid-October, the official said on condition of anonymity.
A high-level Egyptian delegation—including the ministers of finance, planning, international cooperation, and investment, along with the central bank governor—is preparing to travel to Washington by the end of the month to negotiate revised commitments and timelines with the IMF’s executive board, they added.
The government had received underwhelming bids for several of the companies it had planned to privatize, according to the ministry source. A proposed IPO of Banque du Caire, for example, was shelved after low investor valuations. “We’re holding out for stronger bids next year when geopolitical conditions are expected to improve,” the official told Al Manassa.
Egypt’s privatization push, launched in March 2023, originally targeted 40 state-owned firms across 18 sectors. To date, the government has completed 21 transactions, raising around $6 billion—excluding the separate $35 billion Ras El-Hekma real estate deal.
The IMF postponed its fifth program tranche disbursement in July, combining it with the sixth review and citing Cairo’s slow progress in reducing the public sector footprint and encouraging private investment. The fund has repeatedly called on Egypt to limit its economic dominance and accelerate private sector engagement.
In December 2024, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced plans to list 10 more companies before year-end, including five under the military-linked National Service Projects Organization. That timeline now appears unlikely.
Fuel pricing reforms remain on track. The source confirmed to Al Manassa that the IMF raised no objections to a fuel price hike expected this month, and said additional increases may follow. Diesel subsidies, however, are set to remain through 2026, costing the treasury more than 50 billion pounds (around $1 billion).
Egypt’s broader IMF loan agreement was expanded in March 2023 from $3 billion to $8 billion amid a severe foreign currency crunch. To meet reform benchmarks, the government has scaled back subsidies on fuel, bread, and electricity—moves that have driven inflation and public frustration.
Meanwhile, government sources maintain that Egypt does not intend to pursue a new IMF program after the current EFF concludes in late 2026. In April, the country received $1.2 billion following completion of the fourth review.
