The government is “ready” to offer up stakes in all military-owned firms as part of the state privatization program and partner with private-sector players, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said on Thursday. Bringing in the private sector for partnerships “could increase governance and could improve performance, he said (watch, runtime: 3:02).

REFRESHER- El Sisi’s remarks came one day after Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly unveiled the government’s plan to sell stakes in 32 state-owned companies through sales to strategic investors and offerings on the EGX over the next 13 months. The plan expects to run from the current quarter through to the end of 1Q 2024, with at least 25% of the share sales — or eight transactions, for those of you keeping track at home — within the first six months. The line-up of companies include banks and financial services firms, oil and petrochemicals companies, real estate players, ports, a tech firm, and several state assets.

Two of these are owned by the military’s National Service Projects Organization (NSPO): Bottled drinks firm Safi and fuel retailer Wataniya were among the list released last week though the government hasn’t disclosed whether they will be sold to strategic or public investors or how much of the companies will be on offer. The two firms were placed into the Sovereign Fund of Egypt’s pre-IPO fund last month.

Military-owned firms are not exempt from taxes + utility costs: All military-owned firms are subject to oversight from the Central Auditing Organization, as well as the military’s own regulatory bodies, NSPO head Maj. Gen. Walid Aboul Magd said at the inauguration (watch, runtime: 1:59). In FY 2021-2022, the group paid EGP 6 bn for electricity, EGP 3 bn for gas and EGP 4.5 bn in taxes, Aboul Magd said. The comments came during the inauguration of the second phase of a food industries “city” owned by an NSPO subsidiary, in Sadat City.

NSPO does enjoy some perks, but it doesn’t hamper competition, El Sisi says: “The NSPO could have some advantages in some areas, such as when it comes to executing on decisions, but this does not come at the cost of real competition,” the president said. NSPO projects are not granted any advantages in operating or production costs, he said. The global business press has stepped up commentary on the military’s involvement in the economy since the Sisi administration agreed with the IMF to curtail the state’s economic footprint as a condition of our latest assistance package.

CONTINUING THE ROADSHOW-

Planning Minister Hala El Said is leading a business delegation to a number of Gulf countries along with Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE) head Ayman Soliman to drum up interest in the offering program. The team was in Kuwait over the weekend for talks with investors — including the country’s sovereign wealth fund, the chambers of commerce and retail conglomerate Alshaya Group — the ministry said in a statement Friday.

The fourth stop: El Said also visited Qatar, Bahrain and Oman last week.

** Expect similar conversations to be had in Dubai this week when El Sisi travels to the emirate to attend the World Government Summit, which runs 13-15 February.

ALSO FROM EL SISI-

El Sisi denies Saudi tensions: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi denied there is a rift with Saudi Arabia and accused local media and social media users of trying to foment trouble. “If we can't say something good, we should remain silent … We must also not forget the support our brothers have given us,” he said (watch, runtime: 3:38). The comments come in the wake of a public spat started by two Saudi commentators who publicly criticized Egypt’s economic policies. The editor-in-chief of Gomhuria published a piece that appeared to criticize Saudi Arabia, but later retracted it.

Getting plenty of ink: Reuters, Bloomberg and The National have pieces on the president’s comments on Saudi Arabia, while Bloomberg picked up the statement on military privatization.