Egypt Enhances Investment Attractiveness

Source: People's Daily

Reporter: Huang Peizhao

Recently, Hassan Khatib, the Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of Egypt, stated that Egypt is working to create a more competitive and attractive investment environment for domestic and foreign investors by simplifying approval processes and eliminating investment barriers, in order to attract more investment and enhance Egypt's international competitiveness. According to relevant reports from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Egypt has been the largest investment destination in Africa for two consecutive years, with foreign direct investment in Egypt accounting for 18.6% of the total foreign direct investment in Africa in 2023, ranking first among African countries.

Egypt has abundant labor resources and has advantages in attracting foreign investment in labor-intensive industries such as manufacturing. At the same time, Egypt's domestic market is large and can radiate to other countries in Africa and the Middle East, providing a broad space for the development of foreign-funded enterprises. According to Egypt's "News Report," in the past year, Egypt has signed a series of major investment agreements, including agreements for green ammonia and green hydrogen projects with a total value of 10.8 billion USD. In addition, Egypt has also demonstrated its attractiveness to foreign investment in sectors such as automobiles, pharmaceuticals, and electronics.

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Currently, Egypt is intensifying its efforts to attract foreign investment through a series of reform measures, aiming to become a center for attracting foreign investment in Africa and the Middle East. In May 2023, the Egyptian government passed and implemented the "General Authority for Investment and Free Zones Strategy," encouraging sustainable investment from both domestic and foreign sources, creating an innovation-based investment atmosphere to support sustainable economic development. The government has established a Supreme Investment Council to coordinate and promote investment activities. Egypt is also providing full-process support for investors through a one-stop service system, from license applications to business operations. In 2024, this system will become a key measure to facilitate investment.

The Egyptian government is promoting legislation and reforms in related fields to continuously optimize the investment environment. The Egyptian government is also providing tax reduction policies and financing facilitation measures for specific industries and projects, especially for new energy projects such as green hydrogen. Recently, Egyptian Prime Minister Madbouly stated that the country aims to attract more than 20 billion USD in foreign direct investment each year and achieve an export target of 140 billion USD by 2030.

In recent years, China has remained Egypt's largest trading partner and is also one of the most active and fastest-growing countries in terms of investment in Egypt.The China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone is an important destination for Chinese enterprises to invest and develop in Egypt. Currently, this economic zone has attracted about 160 Chinese enterprises, involving fiberglass, new building materials, oil equipment, high and low voltage equipment, machinery, and more.Recently, the Suez Port Engineering Company announced that it will cooperate with Chinese investors to jointly build an aluminum foil factory in the Suez Canal Economic Zone. The project's annual production capacity is 60,000 tons, which will later increase to 100,000 tons. It is reported that the feasibility study report for this project has already been approved.

According to Walid Gamaleddin, chairman of the Suez Canal Economic Zone Authority, in the past two years, Chinese investment accounted for 40% of the total investment in the Suez Canal Economic Zone. "We look forward to attracting more Chinese investors in the future, especially in the automotive and pharmaceutical industries." The CEO of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones of Egypt, Haiba, stated that the medical device and pharmaceutical industries are becoming key sectors for attracting investment in Egypt. This department plans to increase investment promotion activities aimed at Chinese investors, introducing investment incentives and key projects, "Investment from China is very important for promoting Egypt's economic development."

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