The Minister of Planning and Economic Development reviews investment opportunities in Egypt before a delegation of Japanese investors

H.E.Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, received a delegation of Japanese investors headed by Mr. KANAZAWA YUKIO, owner of Titan Capital and Mizuha, and his accompanying delegation, to discuss ways of cooperation and present investment opportunities in Egypt, in the presence of Khaled Mahmoud Abbas, Chairman, and Chief executive officer of the Administrative Capital Company for Urban Development.

The meeting witnessed the presence of Dr. Ahmed Kamali, Deputy Minister of Planning, Ayman Soliman, Executive Director of The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE), Kamal Nasr, Assistant Minister for Technical Office Affairs, Wael Ziadeh, Assistant Minister for Investment Affairs and Ambassador Hazem Khairat, Director of the International Cooperation Office.

During her speech, Dr. Hala El-Said highlighted the role played by the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development.

She noted that in the field of economic development, Egypt’s Ministry of Planning is responsible for formulating and following up on the implementation of Egypt’s Vision 2030.

El-Said said that Egypt’s Vision 2030 copes with UN SDGs and Agenda 2063.

El-Said added that at the planning level, the Ministry specializes in preparing long-, medium- and short-term sustainable development plans, managing public investment and raising its efficiency, diversifying sources of funding for development plans and programs, and digital transformation that supports planning.

El-Said referred to the entities affiliated with the Ministry, including the Institute of National Planning (INP), the National Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development (NIGSD), and the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMS). 

She also referred to the role of The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE) which is the investment arm of the state.

El-Said also discussed updating Egypt’s Vision 2030 to be compatible with global changes. She also referred to the National Program for Structural Reforms, which aims to transform the path of the national economy to become a productive economy with competitive advantages in a way that supports the economy’s ability to grow sustainably.

  El-Said highlighted the Decent Life Initiative, which is the largest development project aimed at improving the lives of citizens in the Egyptian countryside, and the National Project for Egyptian Family Development, which aims to improve the characteristics of the population and control rapid growth rates.

El-Said asserted that the Egyptian state’s commitment to following dialogue and a participatory approach to launching development partnerships with the private sector and civil society, which is the approach followed by the ministry and the state in the development planning process in general and in implementing Egypt’s Vision 2030, which has been updated by the participatory approach.

Regarding the localization of sustainable development goals, El-Said explained that Egypt launched the voluntary national reports that were reviewed before the High-Level Political Forum in New York, the Financing for Development Report, and the Human Development Report for Egypt 2021, and work is underway on the new report for the year 2023.

Regarding the most important features of the Egyptian economic scene, El-Said said that the Egyptian economy is characterized by diversity and the multiplicity of promising sectors that provide promising investment opportunities, including the agricultural, industrial, communications, and information technology sectors, and the logistics sector.

 El-Said highlighted Egypt's distinguished geographical location, which makes it a gateway to the African continent and Europe. Egypt has a large market, and low-cost skilled labor, in addition to the promising economic potential of the Suez Canal Economic Zone.

She also referred to the set of legislative policies and reforms launched by the Egyptian state to improve the investment climate, in addition to the state’s implementation of unprecedented investments in infrastructure during the last decade, which make Egypt an attractive environment for investments.

  El-Said highlighted the Golden License initiative, as well as the speed of project implementation, as the state grants the Golden License with one approval (from the Cabient) to establish, operate, and manage projects in a period not exceeding 20 working days.

El-Said explained that there are a large number of free trade agreements between Egypt and various countries of the world and regional blocs, including the COMESA Agreement, the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, and the Association Agreement between Egypt and the European Union.

El-Said reviewed the most important development efforts of the Egyptian state, pointing to the launch of Egypt’s Vision 2030 in 2016 to represent the national version of the international goals to achieve sustainable development, and the general framework organizing the interim plans and programs of work during the coming years.

El-Said pointed out that Egypt was the first to implement many reforms through the first phase of the National Economic and Social Reform Programme, which the government launched in November 2016, which contributed to achieving overall stability and comprehensive growth.

   This was reflected in the positive indicators witnessed by the Egyptian economy during the year 19/2020 and before the occurrence of the COVID-19 crisis, according to El-Said.

El-Said said that these efforts are being complemented by supporting the business environment and enhancing the role of the private sector as one of the main pillars of the national program for structural reforms in Egypt, which the state launched in April 2021 through dialogue with experts and the private sector.

The program aims to restructure the Egyptian economy to diversify the production structure by focusing on sectors of the real economy. These sectors are the agricultural sector - the industrial sector - the communications and information technology sector.

El-Said explained that the program includes a special focus on enhancing the efficiency and flexibility of the labor market to provide skilled workers, through the expansion of technological and applied schools and universities, as well as the establishment of specialized sector councils to cooperate with the private sector in identifying the required skills and supporting them.

Regarding the investment climate and opportunities in Egypt, El-Said pointed out the issuance of a set of incentives and the application of a set of exemptions to reduce the financial and tax burdens on investors.

El-Said explained the role of TSFE as one of the mechanisms to enhance partnerships with the local and foreign private sectors, which is considered the ideal partner for the private sector because a special law gives it flexibility in investing without being bound by government rules and regulations.

TSFE also helps the investor by facilitating government procedures and obtaining the necessary licenses and allows investment in state-owned assets by converting them into unique investment products, including many exclusive opportunities. 

El-Said added that the state presented a draft document entitled “State Ownership Policy,” which was approved in its final form. This document explains to investors the role of the state in various sectors as a regulator of economic activity according to market mechanisms, and how the state will exit from activities in which the private sector will assume the largest role.

El-Said pointed out that there are promising opportunities for private investment with the offering of part of the infrastructure, state-owned companies, and hotels through the ownership, usufruct, concession, or BOT system.

All of them aim to stimulate the private sector, and the assets and companies that will be offered to the private sector for investment are being prepared, whether directly or through the Sovereign Fund of Egypt.

El-Said indicated that the state is working to launch an offering program to list several state-owned companies on the stock exchange, to stimulate capital markets by offering shares in government-owned companies to citizens and local and international investors and diversifying the ownership base.

The program's objectives include attracting domestic and foreign investments into Egypt's capital markets, thus increasing private sector participation in economic development.

For his part, Ayman Soliman, Executive Director of TSFE, reviewed: The most important projects and files that the Fund is working on, which represent the ideal partner for the Egyptian and foreign private sector, pointing to the range of investment opportunities available in the real estate, entertainment and education sectors, which have received great interest from the Japanese side.

Mr. Kanzawa praised the efforts of the Egyptian state in achieving development plans in various fields by Egypt’s Vision 2023 under the leadership of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, stressing that the company’s delegation, during its visit to Egypt, saw many new and smart cities and promising investment opportunities that greatly attracted Japanese investments.