Suez Canal debt swap for company sales
The article begins with Egyptian Prime Minister Advisor Hassan Heikal discussing the idea of exchanging Egypt’s debts for state assets, including the potential transfer of ownership of the Suez Canal, as a tactic to facilitate the sale of stakes in strategic companies owned by the state. Subsequently, the Egyptian government sold shares in six state-owned companies with a total value of approximately 5.52 billion Egyptian pounds, valued at less than 110 million US dollars. The focus was on sales conducted between January and August 2023. The article makes clear that the government is seeking to raise liquidity through divestment of assets, amid concerns from experts that these operations may be part of a broader plan to sell strategic assets, potentially weakening the country’s sustainable economic capacity. Analysts and activists also express worry over the lack of transparency in these sales, insufficient disclosure, and the domination of Gulf entities over parts of these companies. There are political and economic tensions surrounding the fate of national assets and the integrity of Egyptian sovereignty, especially with rising external and domestic debts and the timing of these operations, which some see as linked to an ongoing economic crisis affecting Egypt.
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