ABSTRACT
Privatization is championed as a possible solution to many of Egypt's economic problems. Some movement toward privatizing Egypt's public sector has already occurred—for example, joint ventures, one ESOP (employee stock ownership programme), private management contracts in public hotels, and the sale of tourist hotels. Yet it is the May Day 1990 speech of President Hosni Mubarak, calling for privatization and liberalization, that has marked a new direction for economic policy-making in Egypt. While this speech is an important turning point, it does not end the long-standing and continuing debate over whether and how to privatize.
