Government Considers Pumping LE5 Bln To Save Textile Industry: Official

The Egyptian government is considering pouring in about LE5 billion to save the state-run textile industry, a senior government official told Turkish news agency Anadolu.

“The government is really serious about saving this industry,” the source said.

Negotiations are currently underway with a number of banks, including the National Bank of Egypt, to form an alliance to finance part of the cost of reviving the textile factories, said Momtaz al Saeed, a board member of the National Investment Bank, run by the Planning Ministry.

The Ministerial Committee formed to restructure the textile sector is listing the unused land and corporate assets, as a prelude to put up for sale to finance part of the restructuring plan, instead of exchanging them with government agencies, including the National Investment Bank, the largest creditor of the textile companies .

The rescue plan includes replacement and renewal of all machinery and equipment in factories to ensure quality production, according to Saeed.

The textile industry is one of the labor-intensive industries. It employs nearly 60 thousand workers, according to statistics from the Holding Company for Spinning and Weaving.

The Holding Company for Spinning and Weaving, who runs about 32 factories, is indebted to the NIB with about LE4.5 billion, according to the holding company.

Source: Al-Masry Al-Youm