CAIRO, June 11 (Reuters) - The Egyptian government said on Thursday it had approved a proposal to set up a sovereign investment fund to support economic development through returns on the state's assets and resources.
The fund, called Amlak, will be state-owned through the National Investment Bank. It will act as the state's investment arm and aim to encourage diversification and support sustainable economic and social development, the cabinet said in a statement.
The state "would not manage these investments directly", according to the statement, citing the planning minister.
"The aim is to set up a highly effective investment fund that is able to participate with financial institutions and sovereign Arab and international funds in mega-projects", the planning minister said.
The statement did not give details on when the fund would be created or how much money it would manage.
A 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak hit the country's economy hard, discouraging investors and tourists and slashing growth to below 2 percent in the 2010/2011 fiscal year.
Egypt's current government has since embarked on a series of reforms and hosted a high-profile investment conference in March where deals worth some $32 billion were signed.
Economic growth has begun to pick up and shaky state finances are strengthening since former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi became president in 2014, overseeing the implementation of some economic reforms while securing aid and investment from rich Arab Gulf allies.
(Writing by Yara Bayoumy; Editing by Larry King) ((yara.bayoumy@thomsonreuters.com; tel: +202 2578 3290; Reuters Messaging: yara.bayoumy.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: EGYPT INVESTMENT/
