Following the nationalization plans carried out by President Gamal Abdel Nasser in the effort to build a post-independence socialist state, this percentage drastically shifted within a few decades to government investment accounting for over 80 percent of economic investment.
[1] This figure included all banking, insurance, foreign trade, medium and heavy industry air transport, and public utilities, as well as many retail stores, newspapers, maritime transport, construction companies, and large infrastructure assets.
By the late 1970s, president Sadat shifted Egypt to the Infitah, or an 'open door' liberal policy.
However, despite a number of rounds of privatisation stipulated by the IMF and World Bank Economic Reform and Structural Adjustment Program (ERSAP) in the 1990s, that saw over 400 companies privatized, by 2015 there were 52 economic authorities, 102 service authorities, and 146 state-owned enterprises that were affiliated with nine holding companies.
[1] In December 2024, Egyptian authorities agreed to accelerate the divestment of state-owned companies to secure a $1.2 billion package from the IMF to improve macroeconomic stability.