Egypt Shares
Poor people are not your stereotypical stockholders. But Egypt’s ruling party has proposed a plan to distribute stocks of publicly owned companies to all Egyptians.
Anyone over the age of 21 will receive coupons they can exchange for shares. Rich and poor alike would be invested in the stock market.
There are doubts as to whether distributing stocks to all will change who profits in the end. Previous privatization efforts have been "marred by claims of corruption and nepotism favoring the government's well-heeled backers," reports The Associated Press.
Gamal Wafa, an engineer at a factory that was privatized three years ago, was doubtful about the plan, voicing common concerns that the country was being sold off to foreign investors. ‘Everything will fall in the hands of the rich, (Gulf) Arabs or foreigners, and the rest of the nation will only serve as doormen.’
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