Dr. Hala El-Said's Gulf tour : The Minister of Planning and Economic Development visits Oman to promote investment in Egypt

Sultanate of Oman on February 7, 2023

H.E. Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development who also serves as the chairperson of The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE) paid recently a visit to the Sultanate of Oman.

The aforementioned visit came as part of her tour to several Gulf countries to promote promising investment opportunities in Egypt.

Mr. Ayman Suleiman, Executive Director of TSFE, participated in the tour.

During her visit to the Sultanate of Oman, Dr. Hala El-Said met with some Omani officials such as Dr. Said bin Muhammad Al-Saqri, Minister of Economy, Mr. Qais bin Muhammad Al-Yousef, Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment Promotion, Mr. Abdul Salam bin Muhammad Al-Murshidi, Chairman of the Omani Investment Authority, and Mr. Faisal bin Abdullah Al-Rawas, President of the Omani Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

During the meetings, Dr. Hala El-Said referred to the implementation of the first phase of the National Program for Economic and Social Reform (NPESR) in November 2016.

Since this date, the Egyptian state has implemented many legislative and institutional reforms by issuing a package of laws and regulations aimed at simplifying procedures for setting up projects, according to El-Said.

Moreover, El-Said explained that the government also launched the National Program for Structural Reforms in April 2021 intending to restructure the Egyptian economy to diversify the productive structure by focusing on the real economy sectors, namely agriculture, industry, communications, and information technology.

El-Said asserted that the Egyptian government prioritizes strengthening the private sector's role in the Egyptian economy as it is the cornerstone for stimulating sustainable and inclusive growth.

El-Said added that the coming period will focus heavily on directing long-term investments in key sectors such as renewable energy, water desalination, health, communications, information technology, industry, and agriculture.

Concerning TSEF, Dr. Hala El-Said referred to TSFE as the investment arm of the Egyptian government, explaining that there is a strong demand for the investment opportunities that we are currently offering.

“TSFE works by creating attractive investment products across some sectors, including renewable energy sources, green hydrogen, tourism, real estate, and logistics,” she said.

Concerning the State Ownership Document, El-Said added that the document highlights three main mechanisms that include offering state-owned assets through the Egyptian Stock Exchange to expand the ownership base, in whole or in part.

The document also injects new investments for the private sector into the current structure of state ownership through the participation of strategic investors and strengthening the participation of the private sector in the ownership structure.

El-Said confirmed that TSFE is working to provide investment opportunities for the private sector to invest in state-owned companies to maximize their value and return from them, as the sub-fund for propositions was launched as a mechanism for implementing the state ownership document.

The sub-fund seeks to manage the offering process for some state-owned companies on the Egyptian Stock Exchange or to a strategic investor.

It also seeks to provide investment opportunities in strategic assets, in addition to restructuring companies before the offering process, which enhances their value and return.