An agency to manage Egypt's state-owned assets could be operational as early as next July, the start of the country's financial year, the outgoing investment minister said on Tuesday. Mahmoud Mohieldin, who resigned from his post to take up a senior position at the World Bank, said a draft law for the agency was being finalized for parliamentary approval. The agency would operate like a sovereign wealth fund and would be responsible for any future privatizations, Mohieldin said. Mohieldin said the law is meant to bring "stability and efficiency to state owned-assets" and focuses on separating ownership and management functions within corporations. Some 147 state firms, now under the ministry, would be controlled by the agency. Mohieldin has compared the agency to Malaysia's state investor Khazanah. He told Reuters in an interview this month that a 30-member committee had been set up and would form the basis for the agency.
