The International Monetary Fund has told Egypt it must offer 10 state-owned companies, including five affiliated with the armed forces, as well as two state banks, under its privatization program by the end of May, a key condition for completing the seventh and eighth reviews of the Extended Fund Facility, a source familiar with the Finance Ministry’s loan file told Al Manassa.
Meeting that condition would clear the way for Egypt to receive $1.65 billion in June, including $136 million under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility, and another equal tranche in mid-November. The IMF announced the timetable for the two reviews on March 26, but the payout remains contingent on Egypt carrying out the agreed reform package.
The government recently asked the IMF’s management to delay the offerings program until regional conditions stabilize, particularly amid rising tensions linked to the US-Israeli war on Iran, the source said.
The IMF rejected the request and insisted on sticking to the timetable while imposing additional conditions, the source said, including accelerating previously agreed airport management offerings, ensuring a genuine state exit from economic activity, and halting the creation of any new state economic bodies or institutions.
Egypt plans to offer Banque du Caire and Bank of Alexandria, along with five other companies, including Safi and Wataniya, on the stock exchange in April, with the remaining companies to follow in May, the source said.
The government aims to raise about $5 billion from the offerings program over the next two months down from an earlier target of $6.5 billion after regional tensions cast a shadow over plans to attract foreign investment and economic activity more broadly, the source said.
Last month, the IMF executive board approved the fifth and sixth reviews of the loan program, as well as the first review of the Resilience and Sustainability Facility, unlocking $2.273 billion for Egypt. Despite that approval, the fund has repeatedly voiced reservations over the slow pace of the privatization program and warned of rising public debt.
PM Mostafa Madbouly has repeatedly said the government wants to press ahead with privatization, including in new sectors, such as companies linked to the armed forces and concessions to operate Egyptian airports. On the ground, however, implementation has fallen far short of the fund’s expectations.
The government has rejected bids to buy state assets because the offers were too low, government sources previously told Al Manassa in comments on deals such as the privatization of Banque du Caire and the management of airports.
Egypt signed the Extended Fund Facility in 2022, but the program ran into trouble from the start as the IMF objected to Central Bank intervention in the exchange rate. It later approved the program’s first reviews after the pound was floated in March 2024 and agreed to raise the loan to $8 billion from $3 billion.
In March 2025, the IMF also approved a $1.3 billion loan for Egypt under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility.
