RIYADH: Egypt is aiming for $6.5 billion in revenues in 2024 from the government’s initial public offering program, according to the finance minister. Speaking during a session at the 8th Arab Fiscal Forum in Dubai, Mohamed Maait explained that the African nation is keen on creating sustainable financial spaces to expand social protection for the most vulnerable groups, according to a statement. This falls in line with the country’s endeavors to pursue structural reforms to enhance economic recovery attempts further. It also aligns well with the government’s efforts to stimulate the private sector, including the state ownership policy document. During his participation in the session, Maait indicated that Egypt is also chasing financial policies that support productive and export activities more. The minister indicated that the policies are based on providing monetary and investment incentives linked to real targets for sectors of strategic importance and global competitiveness. In addition to this, Maait also noted that the country is currently dealing with more balanced and cautious policies in the face of successive global economic crises, with their intertwined repercussions that have become increasingly complex with geopolitical tensions. Consequently, this enables the country to contain the severity of internal and external shocks and complete the process of financial discipline by maintaining a primary surplus and setting rates. Moreover, to further propel the role of the private sector, the government is providing promising investment prospects, ensuring optimal exploitation of state resources through an integrated policy for managing state-owned assets and programs stimulating private acquisitions. In August 2023, the government announced that it intended to present stakes in 35 state-owned firms to strategic investors by the end of June 2024, aligning with the State Ownership Policy Document. This comes as the Egyptian government collected $5 billion by divesting stakes in 13 enterprises between March 2022 and July 2023, local newspaper Ahram Online reported at the time. The IPO program is one of the state plans to attract more investors and solve the economic crisis and the shortage of hard currency. This push toward IPOs underscores Egypt’s strategy to enhance its economic landscape and reinforce the engagement of private investors in the country’s growth journey.