São Paulo – The plan for development of Egyptian industry forecasts the expansion of the direct investment portfolio to over 175 billion Egyptian pounds (US$ 31.2 billion at current exchange rates) by 2011. In 2008, total industrial investment reached 117.2 billion pounds (almost US$ 21 billion), according to information by the head of the planning, marketing and information department at the Industrial Development Agency (IDA), Ashraf Dowidar.
Up to 2011, according to him, over 36.4 billion pounds (US$ 6.5 billion) should have been invested in projects in areas allocated by the government, and another 22.1 billion pounds (almost US$ 4 billion) in industrial zones developed by the private initiative or by governments of other countries, like Jordan, China, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Spain. The main focuses of the industrial promotion strategy are the automotive, naval, medical equipment and textile sectors.
According to Dowidar, the plan, which established targets to be reached between 2005 and 2011, forecasts the construction of one thousand industrial units of different sizes. Up to the moment, 924 have been erected. Other objectives are for expansion of exports of manufactured products to 75 billion pounds (US$ 13.4 billion), being that in 2008 they reached 63 billion (US$ 11.2 billion); and the creation of 1.5 million jobs. The total generated has already reached 970,000.
Yesterday (4th) Dowidar, who is on the Egyptian mission and is in São Paulo to promote investment opportunities, made a presentation to representatives of the textile industry of Brazil at the offices of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce. Since early this week, he has also made presentations to the medical equipment and hospital sectors and to businessmen in the auto parts industries.
Alongside his advisor for investment development, Mohamed Hassan El-Banna, and the head of the General Authority for Investment (Gafi), Mohamed Rizk, Dowidar said that exports of the textile industry of Egypt have grown continuously since 2004, having reached US$ 2.35 billion last year. The main markets are Europe and the United States. The total invested in the sector reached US$ 4.94 billion in 2008.
As means of attracting foreign investment, he mentioned the low cost of land and labour, the strategic geographic position and the trade agreements between Egypt and the European Union, the United States and other Arab and African countries, which forecast preferential tariffs for imports of Egyptian products.
Dowidar also mentioned the low cost of inputs like water, electric energy and natural gas and the growth of the domestic market. Egypt has a population of over 78 million people. He and Rizk also said that different business models may be implemented by foreign investors, varying from rent of small assembly lines in factories to the construction of large factories.
The government of Egypt, according to the executive, has been promoting international conferences to present investment opportunities. He said that, if there is interest by Brazilian industrial sectors, an event of the kind might be organized in Brazil. Gafi nominated an employee, Basma Ellaithy, to exclusively supply the demands of Brazilian companies.
*Translated by Mark Ament
