Companies skeptical about Egypt’s push to ease industry ties

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt is embarking on a privatization push to help its cash-strapped government after pressure from the International Monetary Fund. The new policy is supposed to be a serious departure for the Egyptian state, which has long maintained a tight grip over sectors of the economy. But local business owners and analysts have told The Associated Press that they fear the state will remain anti-competitive and enmeshed in key industries. Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly says the hope is the changes ‘’bring in strategic investors’’ and ‘’widen the participation of Egyptian citizenship in public ownership.’’ The reforms are required under IMF bailout needed to prop up the troubled Egyptian economy.