For instance, a holding company was negotiating a deal with one buyer, while an affiliated enterprise was simultaneously holding negotiations with another investor. The announcement flew in the face of the government's decision to grant a third mobile phone license to Egypt Telecom. Investors on the stock market are already frustrated by the government's dilly-dallying over privatisations. Anticipating the repeatedly promised flotations of telecommunications, oil and electricity investors have abstained from investing further funds in the stock market, contributing to the market's current depression. To avert such back-tracking, privatisations must be gauged on an assessment of their strategic importance to consumers.
Timing is also important.
It took the Minister of Electricity Ali El-Sa'idi seven months to acknowledge that his ministry's electricity distribution companies would be partially sold off. One might be tempted to think a political conflict is being waged inside the government. Ministers in every government department talk about privatisation although this should be the prerogative of the prime minister and the Minister of Public Enterprise Mokhtar Khattab. Atef Ebeid's competence as the architect of Egypt's privatisation programme is beyond doubt. But the government itself must first share the conviction that this is really the case.