CAIRO: Egypt has settled historical debts valued at EGP13.5 billion ($861 million) for oil and electricity companies managed by the Ministry of Public Enterprise Sector.
In a statement, the Egyptian Ministry of Public Enterprise Sector said the debts of eight holding companies and 119 subsidiaries across various sectors had been cleared, part of the government’s efforts to reform the economy and improve the efficiency of the ministry’s operations.
The debt settlements were made by transferring some unused and indispensable real estate assets affiliated with the ministry to the companies’ creditors. Some of the companies included were those related to the General Petroleum Corporation and its subsidiary companies, the statement said.
The ministry said the debts had occurred due to the mounting losses and debt interest payment of some of the companies within the enterprise sector, which had built up over several decades. The ministry said it was working on a strategy to dissolve those debts and return the companies back to profit.
Rasha Omar, Assistant Minister of Public Business Sector for Enterprise, said that the ministry had concluded debt settlement contracts of about EGP33 billion ($2.11 billion) between enterprise sector companies and some government agencies, such as the National Investment Bank, Social Insurance, the Ministry of Petroleum and the Ministry of Electricity.
