Three sources acquainted with the situation quoted by Reuters have confirmed that Ayman Soliman, the head of Egypt’s $12 billion sovereign wealth fund, has resigned.

The resignations comes after limited progress in the privatisation drive announced at the start of his tenure five years ago.

Although the government and military have been reluctant to give up control over some assets, the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE) has said that its goal is to promote private-sector partnerships and assist international investment to flow into state-owned firms.

Requests for comment from the TSFE and Soliman, who was appointed in 2019 for a three-year term that was later extended, went unanswered.

It was expected that Soliman would quit; according to a government source, the political leadership of the nation wished to reassign senior roles to new people as part of a larger reorganisation.

“It’s not Soliman’s fault. But with the reshuffle, Egypt wanted to present a fresh image, and that meant Soliman had to step down,” said the source, speaking – like the others – on condition of anonymity.

In 2019, Soliman told Reuters that he wanted to “unlock value and create wealth” as part of his ambitious plan for TSFE.

Selling interests in banks, state-owned enterprises, and public projects both privately and on the Egyptian stock exchange was a key component of that strategy.

This involved giving an interest in a 25-year-old power plant concession controlled by the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company, in addition to shares in two military-owned businesses.