The Economist said that despite the talk about the importance of business in Egypt, the army is holding on to whatever it wants, and the authorities are cracking down on businessmen and the private sector, which has caused the economy to worsen and fail to build a manufacturing base, and to curb the arrival of foreign investors. .

In its report, this British magazine presented two examples of restrictions on Egyptian businessmen in favor of army companies:

  •  First example:

    Juhayna Dairy and Juice Manufacturing, the largest company of its kind in the country, whose milk and yoghurt production is sold throughout the Middle East and Africa, was one of the most valuable companies on the Cairo Stock Exchange and impresses foreign investors.

    However, under the military rule, she faced "mafia-style blackmail", as the magazine put it.

The report said that the fate of Juhayna illustrates the shortcomings of the Egyptian economy.

Juhayna's problems began when the state decided to seize it, and after its founder, Safwan Thabet, refused to hand over a controlling stake to the government, he was thrown into a notorious prison due to torture, according to the magazine's report, and when his son Saif refused the same deal, he joined his father and they spent more time together. A year ago, the courts did not consider their case.


Last year - says the magazine - Egypt launched the Silo Foods Industrial City, which is a complex of food factories supervised by the army.

The company's slogan is "The world has a new taste," which is similar to Juhayna's slogan, "The world has a beautiful taste."

Silo Foods wants to open its own milk factory.

  • Second example

    : Rami Shaath is a successful businessman whose company produces electronic devices to track electricity, water and gas consumption for public utility companies.

    When he refused to allow a military company to share his technology, utility companies began canceling contracts.

    "We started going bankrupt," Shaath said. "Not because our performance was poor, but because the army was putting pressure on us."

    He was sent to prison for more than two years on unspecified "terrorism" charges, but, like Al Thabet, he was never tried, according to the Economist report.

The magazine says that although the military has received special tax breaks and customs exemptions, the government praises it for "saving the public from greedy and speculative traders".

She adds that during the current month of Ramadan, soldiers distributed meat at subsidized prices, at a time when the Ministry of Agriculture banned private competitors in 2019 from entering the lucrative halal meat market.

stifle the private sector

The Economist continues that few businessmen in Egypt dare to stand up to the army, as the treatment of the Thabet family shows what could happen if they did.

She notes that the government has borrowed $20 billion (about 5% of GDP) from the International Monetary Fund since 2016, making Egypt the second largest borrower from the Fund after Argentina for that period.


And now - says The Economist - that Egypt is negotiating a new loan after the war in Ukraine forced nervous investors to flee, causing a hard currency crisis.

According to the magazine, the IMF praised Egypt for quickly taking painful and unpopular austerity measures, but complained that the government was stifling the private sector, and that the military controlled parts of the economy and restricted the free market despite President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's pro-business statements.

She adds that despite GDP growth since the 2016 bailout, the Egyptian economy is in poor shape, as Egypt has failed to build its manufacturing base, and exports are slow.

According to the latest estimate - the magazine continues - the current account deficit widened to 18.4 billion dollars, the poverty rate increased, and the Central Bank devalued the pound (the local currency) last month by 14%, and sales of short-term treasury bills also vanished.