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Egypt plans to float up to four military-owned companies on the stock market as part of a broader privatisation plan to attract investment and boost the economy, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Wednesday.

The government has been under pressure to sell stakes in state-owned companies under a bailout package secured from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in December 2022.

"As part of this plan, there will be an announcement about the offering of three or four military-affiliated companies which will be listed on the Egyptian stock exchange," Madbouly told a news conference in Cairo.

"No details will be disclosed until the announcement is made next week," he added.

Early this year, the IMF expanded its loan package from $3 billion to $8 billion to help Egypt manage its amid regional instability.

Madbouly said that state companies in the banking, industrial, pharmaceutical, and investment sectors will also be included in the initial public offerings announced next week.

Last month, the IMF delayed its review of the 46-month loan programme, which ended without unlocking the $1.2 billion in expected financing.

The IMF said it had "encouraged the authorities to accelerate their divestment plans and speed up reforms to level the playing field and reduce the state footprint in the economy."

The Arab world's most populous country faces one of its worst economic crises in decades.

Foreign debt has surged fourfold since 2015, reaching $160.6 billion in the first quarter of 2024. This increase was driven in part by large-scale projects, including a new capital east of Cairo.

The war on Gaza has also worsened the country's economic situation.

Repeated attacks on Red Sea shipping by Yemen's Houthi rebels in support of Palestinians in Gaza have resulted in Egypt's revenues from the Suez Canal, a key foreign currency earner, falling by more than 70 percent this year.