Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – The Egyptian government obligated foreigners residing in the country “illegally” to reconcile their status within 3 months in return for paying one thousand dollars, while obliging applicants to obtain the right of residence for tourism or for other purposes to provide a receipt indicating the transfer of fees from dollars to dollars. pound. On the other hand, it intends to offer 6 government companies for sale at a value of $5 billion within 6 months, as part of the state’s plan to address the shortage of foreign exchange in the country.
And the Official Gazette in Egypt published the decision of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, obligating foreigners applying to the General Directorate of Passports to obtain the right of residence for tourism or non-tourism to present a receipt stating their transfer of the equivalent of (residence fees / fines for default / costs of issuing a residence card) in dollars or its equivalent. From free currencies to the Egyptian pound from one of the approved banks or exchange companies.
The decision also required foreigners residing illegally in the country to regularize their status and legalize their residence, provided that there is an Egyptian host, within 3 months, in return for paying administrative expenses equivalent to one thousand US dollars, to be deposited in the account designated for that, in accordance with the rules and procedures determined by the Ministry of the Interior.
Abdel Moneim Emam, head of the Justice Party and secretary of the Plan and Budget Committee in the Egyptian Parliament, said that Egypt has received large numbers of foreigners, estimated at about 8 million foreigners of various nationalities, which requires regularizing their status legally, stressing that Egypt welcomes refugees from all countries, It spares no effort to provide all services to them without discrimination or distinction with its children.
In August of last year, the International Organization for Migration estimated the number of international migrants living in Egypt at 9 million people from 133 countries, led by Sudanese with 4 million migrants, Syrians with 1.5 million, and Yemenis and Libyans with one million migrants.
Imam added, in exclusive statements to CNN in Arabic, that the government’s decision contributes to providing dollar cash flows that help the state provide basic services, in light of the foreign exchange shortage crisis as a result of the decline in remittances from Egyptians abroad, due to the presence of two dollar prices in the market, which enhances Egypt’s international reserves. Foreign currency through the renewal of residency permits for foreigners and fees for adjusting statuses, especially since they do not constitute a burden on foreigners to procure them in dollars.
Egypt’s foreign exchange reserves increased for the eleventh month in a row, recording $34.878 billion at the end of last July.
For his part, stock exchange expert Ahmed Al-Sayed said that the government’s offering of state-owned companies for sale comes within the economic reform plan agreed upon with the International Monetary Fund since the first agreement that took place in 2016, with the aim of increasing the outcome of state revenues, maximizing the return from its resources, and at the same time enhancing The contribution of the private sector to the economy in a way that is reflected in achieving sustainable economic development, adding that the state was late in implementing the government offering program, with the exception of i-Finance for financial and digital investments, which was launched in October of 2021, and achieved great success in attracting investments or At the level of participation in the underwriting of the company’s offering.
The Egyptian government has previously launched a state ownership policy document, which aims to raise the percentage of private sector investments out of total total investments from 30% to 65% over the next three years, by exiting at the level of activities and subsidiaries of each activity separately, and ensuring fair valuation of assets. With the help of trusted advisory bodies, and reviewing the regulatory and legal frameworks to encourage the participation of the private sector, with the periodic review of the map of the country’s presence in accordance with global and local developments, according to official data.
Al-Sayed said, in exclusive statements to CNN in Arabic, that the Egyptian state renewed the program of government offerings again during its agreement with the International Monetary Fund to obtain a new loan in October of last year, but it faced difficult challenges that affected the listing of government companies on the stock exchange, most notably The liberalization of the exchange rate of the pound, and the conditions of the local and global financial markets, prompted it to sell these companies directly to strategic investors, and it actually succeeded in completing part of the proposals, but the completion of the program faces difficulty in agreeing with investors due to fears of a new decline in the exchange rate, which affects the Asset valuation.
And the state sold 13 government companies during the period from March 2022 to July 2023, with a total of $ 5 billion. Fertilizers – Mopco, and Alexandria Container and Commodity Handling, with a total amount of $2 billion for the Abu Dhabi Holding Company in March 2022, and 4 months later, it sold 4 companies, namely Mopco, Abu Qir Fertilizers, iFinance, and Alexandria Container Handling, with a total of $1.3 billion for the benefit of the Investment Fund. Saudi.
Last July, the state sold 7 historic hotels owned by Egoth for a total of $700 million to the Talaat Mustafa Holding Group, and 3 companies (Ethydco, Al Hafar, and Elab) for a total of $800 million to Abu Dhabi Holding Company.
Ahmed Al-Sayed said that if the state succeeds in completing the third phase of selling government companies during the coming period, this will be positively reflected in the budget’s proceeds. The latter is committed to providing financing for the deal from abroad, indicating that the collection of $6 billion from the sale of companies is linked to the completion of the sale of major companies, especially power plants and Telecom Egypt’s stake in Vodafone Egypt.
Telecom Egypt owns a stake of 44.5% in Vodafone Egypt, and local media had previously reported the government’s intention to sell this stake, but Telecom Egypt issued multiple disclosures denying this news.
2023-09-03 18:36:43
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