Egypt media offers $1bn worth of assets to investors

State media and press institutions in Egypt are offering their assets to the private sector in an attempt to repay huge debts, the state National Press Authority (NPA) announced on Tuesday.

The debts amount to over EGP 19 billion (around $1 billion), according to first undersecretary of the NPA, Abdullah Hassan. This debt is increasing annually because of the accumulation of interest and the non-payment of debts.

The revenues resulting from the investment are set to be added to the institutions’ overall capital:

“All institutions have assets that can be exploited,” said NPA Chairman Karam Gabr. “National institutions are more stable and very keen to take care of their workers’ rights. There is no intention to sell the assets of institutions, but we seek to re-exploit the assets that are not being exploited.”

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NPA undersecretary Essam Farag predicted that investing these assets will greatly contribute to developing these press organisations.

He stressed that the government has prepared a complete and adequate plan to carry this out.