The Minister of Planning and Economic Development chairs the meeting of the Board of Directors of NIB

H.E. Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development who is also acting as Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the National Investment Bank (NIB), chaired the bank’s Board of Directors meeting, which was held for the first time in the bank’s developed headquarter, where the meeting discussed the bank’s plan, its budget files, and the restructuring plan.

Dr. Hala El-Said inspected the NIB’s headquarters after its development work.

She further distributed certificates to graduates of the program for preparing feasibility studies for national projects, which the bank held in cooperation with the NI Consulting Academy.

The ceremony took place in the presence of Mr. Ashraf Negm, Vice Chairman of NIB’s Board of Directors and Managing Director, Amr El-Garhy, former Minister of Finance and former CEO of the Bank, Dr. Ahmed Kamali, Deputy Minister of Planning and Economic Development.

The event witnessed the presence of several assistants to the Minister of Planning, heads of institutions, and members of the boards of directors of companies and investment institutions to which the National Investment Bank contributes.

During the ceremony, Dr. Hala El-Said thanked Mr. Ashraf Negm, the members of the Board of Directors, the employees of the National Investment Bank, and the employees of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development for the achievements they presented to the bank, and for their tangible efforts to overcome the challenges.

 El-Said said that the National Investment Bank is one of the most important investment and development foundations in Egypt, as it has been operating for many decades and has always been responsible for financing and managing the development plan in the Egyptian state.

  El-Said referred to the role of NIB in terms of the volume of major investments made by the bank, in addition to the volume of financing for projects related to railways, bridges, and other major projects.

El-Said explained that the bank played a fundamental role in implementing the development plan and supporting all state institutions.

Regarding the National Investment Bank’s move to the new headquarters, El-Said explained that it represents not only a spatial move but also a performative move to improve the performance process and use more advanced technological means so that the Investment Bank remains the primary supporter of the development plan process.

  El-Said pointed out that the bank has a huge digital transformation system that is comparable to the digital transformation systems in the best international institutions, which in turn allows for the availability of a large amount of project data.

El-Said asserted that Egypt has a large base of development projects undertaken by the state over the past decades, explaining the necessity of providing the necessary information about all of these projects in cooperation with the spatial changes system available at the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development.

El-Said noted the importance of integration between the Ministry and the Bank, as well as the Ministry of Finance, to provide the Egyptian state and decision-makers with a database and information that helps understand the past and extrapolate the future to make decisions more accurately and wisely.

El-Said stressed that one of the most important elements of development in the bank is related to capacity building and attention to the human element, adding that the bank has many cadres and figures who have experience acquired over the years, asserting the necessity of continuing the training process and investing in the human element.

  El-Said pointed out the importance of creating an integration between the feasibility studies unit at the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development and the same unit at the National Investment Bank, as well as the partnership unit with the private sector, in light of developing the partnership between the government and the private sector.

  El-Said said that the private sector is largely responsible for leading the development plan during the current period, which requires the presence of competencies and cadres that can properly evaluate feasibility studies and help decision-makers at the same time.

For his part, Ashraf Negm, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of the National Investment Bank, thanked the Minister for her sustained support for the National Investment Bank and its development and restructuring strategy.

Negm explained that since he assumed the position of Vice Chairman of the Bank’s Board of Directors, that period was a turning point full of challenges in the history of the National Investment Bank, requiring the need to advance the bank and put it on the right track to keep pace with the developments witnessed by the Egyptian economy.

Negm added that this is what prompted us to take serious and rapid steps towards completing the process of restructuring the bank and keeping pace with new and successive changes by building the financial, banking, and administrative capabilities of the bank and ensuring its sustainable growth in light of the rapidly changing surrounding environment as well as contributing to achieving the development goals of the state in light of Egypt 2030 vision.

Negm pointed out that the bank aspires during the coming period to contribute to advancing development, consolidating the cycle, diversifying and improving the level of services it provides, and activating the rules of governance in a way that works to advance government investment and raise its efficiency to fulfill national obligations.

Negm added that the National Investment Bank is one of the important economic and investment arms of the state to implement its development plans and the availability of distinguished expertise possessed by the bank’s employees.

  The bank, in cooperation with Ni Consulting, trained several 20 distinguished talents at the National Investment Bank to enhance their competence and skills in the field of evaluating feasibility studies for national projects, and to serve as a nucleus with distinguished expertise in the field of evaluating feasibility studies for investment projects.

Negm pointed to the role of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development in providing the necessary facilities and support to the bank, as well as the efforts made to link technologically and digitally between the bank and the ministry, which works to quickly provide audited data to decision-makers.