Qandil, who was sworn in last month, said in an interview in Cairo yesterday that his government wants to attract private companies to invest in energy exploration and power distribution. It also wants to sell sukuk, or Islamic bonds, after legislation for the debt instrument is prepared within the next three months, to lower near-record borrowing costs.

Qandil stands a better chance of implementing such policies than governments under ousted President Hosni Mubarak because he was appointed by a democratically elected president, Cairo-based investment banks EFG-Hermes Holding (HRHO) and CI Capital Holding said. Egypt is struggling to rebuild its economy after more than 19 months of political unrest that saw borrowing costs jump by about 50 percent and foreign reserves drop by more than half.

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