Egypt turns to Europe for investment

Newspaper Title: The National’s Business

Newspaper Number:

Thursday - 26 February 2015

LONDON // Egypt will not rely on further aid from the Gulf unless its already shaky economy worsens, a senior minister told The National, as the country looks to court billions of dollars in foreign investment from Europe.

Since the removal in 2013 of the Muslim Brotherhood president Mohammed Morsi, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have given Egypt more than US$12 billion.

But Hany Kadry Dimian, Egypt’s minister of finance, said at the Middle East Congress in London yesterday that the country would not seek further aid as long as the economic recovery keeps on track. The National was a media partner for the event.

“We are building this economy on structural reforms, and not to continue on the aid … our strategy is to reform the economy and put it on the right track and to restore the imbalances,” he said.

“Having said that, the Egyptian government does not expect that – should Egypt run into difficulty – the Gulf will stand still and not give.”

Mr Dimian said aid from the Gulf had given a “fantastic” boost to the Egyptian economy, but that Egypt was now concentrating on restructuring its economy, attracting foreign investment and building several “megaprojects” such as the additional Suez Canal channel and a new capital city outside Cairo.

At least $30bn in investment opportunities is expected to be showcased at an economic conference to be held next month in Sharm El Sheikh.

Mr Dimian, speaking yesterday at the Telegraph Middle East Congress in London, said he expects several investment deals from the UK to be sealed at that conference.

“At the Sharm El Sheikh economic conference we will hear good news about new investors coming from the UK,” he told delegates.

“The GCC is among the regions that have the biggest surpluses in the world still, despite the decline in international oil prices. But I expect that the absolute biggest investments will be coming from Europe, and specifically coming from the UK.”

The British are already the biggest foreign investors in Egypt and are expected to remain so for at least the next decade, the minister added.

But Egypt’s infrastructure needs – ranging from the electricity sector to football stadiums – will also provide opportunities farther afield, he added.

“We have received plenty of investors of coming from different regions – from the UK, China, the US, and the Gulf states of course. And there is an appetite that is growing.”