- Egypt: In its edition of 26 November, the French daily Les Echos took stock of the privatisation plan engaged by the Egyptian government in April 1994 that has so far brought in $4 billion. The privatisation, launched in full fanfare, have now come to a standstill. Out of the 314 public companies that are part of the plan, 190 are still to be renationalised. Foreign investors are reluctant to invest in a region that is "politically unstable". In addition, the companies in question are often in deficit if not disaster-stricken. The Egyptian government often overestimates the value and seeks to sell in "batches" while the market would prefer sales in larger units. Today, the following operations are considered a priority: the sale of a minority share in EGYPT TELECOM (telecommunications), at least one of the four large public banks (BANQUE DU CAIRE being first), the airline company EGYPTAIR and part of the electricity and water distribution networks.