Egypt’s state firms transfer EGP 1B to treasury under new profit law

Five state-owned holding companies approved an additional distribution of 1.061 billion Egyptian pounds ($21.6 million) from their profits to support the state treasury, according to a government statement on June 30, 2026.

The move arrives just days after the House of Representatives approved a law requiring a share of government company profits to be remitted to the state budget.

According to the statement, the Metallurgical Industries Holding Company, the Chemical Industries Holding Company, the Holding Company for Pharmaceuticals, the Holding Company for Tourism and Hotels, and the Holding Company for Construction and Development transferred part of their profits for the 2024/25 fiscal year to the state treasury.

Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Hussein Eissa who chaired the general assembly meetings of the holding companies said the approval of the additional distributions came as part of efforts to support the state treasury, and after reviewing the companies’ financial positions and their ability to meet their operational and financing obligations.

The largest portion of the transferred profits originated from the Metallurgical Industries Holding Company, totaling 400.3 million pounds ($8.14 million), while the smallest portion came from the Holding Company for Pharmaceuticals, which amounted to 88 million pounds ($1.8 million).

The new law mandates that state-owned companies must transfer 5% of their distributable profits to the state treasury. Companies where the state or public entities hold more than 50% of the capital are required, through their boards of directors, to collect an amount equal to 4% of their share of distributable profits.

Rights organizations welcomed the new law, following earlier criticism that public companies were making profits without transferring sufficient shares to the state budget to support social spending.