Egypt is investing in infrastructure to attract the private sector, focusing on road and port networks along the Red Sea and Mediterranean, aiming to establish Egypt as a global trade hub, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Hala El-Said, said.
She noted Egypt's large market size as a catalyst for investment, pointing out its demographic advantage with 70% of the population under 40 years old. Therefore, investing in technical, vocational, and technological education is crucial.
This came during El-Said’s participation in the first panel of the Egypt-EU Investment Conference, titled "Showcasing Egypt’s reform agenda and investment climate”. The conference is ongoing on June 29th and 30th under the theme "Unlocking Egypt's Advantages in a Fast-Changing World" in Cairo.
El Said clarified that Egypt has undergone various reform programs, emphasizing that reform is an ongoing process. Since 2014, Egypt has been committed to a comprehensive structural reform program, involving participation from the government, private sector, and civil society.
The minister outlined that Egypt's structural reform program is based on four key axes. The first axis primarily focuses on Egypt's productive sectors including industry, agriculture, telecommunications, information technology, tourism, and logistics. This aims to enhance Egypt's resilience against external shocks.
She highlighted the second axis, which aims to increase private sector participation in development processes, stressing that the private sector is a key partner in development. The state has implemented policies, measures, and legislation, alongside significant investments in infrastructure, to stimulate private sector investment in Egypt. These initiatives include currency exchange liberalization, financial reforms, launching a state ownership policy document, and investment incentives to localize certain industries in specific areas or sectors, especially sustainable green sectors.
The state supports such industries and investments by bearing 30% of the investment costs, in addition to special exemptions for small and medium-sized enterprises, which are exempted from taxes for five years as they support larger industries, according to El-Said.
The minister emphasized the social protection axis, ensuring stability and security for the state. She highlighted President el-Sisi's launch of the largest developmental project globally, "Decent Life," providing sanitation, drinking water, health units, and schools for rural citizens, benefiting over 50% of Egypt's population. She clarified that providing these services in rural areas confirms the right to development as a fundamental human right.
She explained that the national project for Egyptian family development, part of the social protection axis, regulates population growth rates and invests in population characteristics. She stressed that empowering Egyptian women economically is a top priority of political leadership and all state institutions, asserting that women are not only half of society but a fundamental axis in improving family conditions and elevating communities.
El Said noted that all reforms have positively impacted the role of the private sector, stressing the need to evaluate any economic reform program within regional and international contexts. Despite challenges, Egypt has successfully launched approximately 14 out of 32 companies promised for strategic investors or listing on the Egyptian Stock Exchange in the past year and a half. Moreover, Egypt has attracted 65 investment opportunities in 14 sectors over the past three years, in addition to activating the golden license for about 29 projects to facilitate all procedures with various state institutions, reflecting positively on the private sector's share of total investment.
Since 2016, the state has intervened by injecting a large volume of investments to improve infrastructure, including during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019 and 2020 to support institutions and economies. The private sector's investment share was 28% of total investment, with a target to increase this to 40% for this year, 50% for the next year, and 65% by the end of 2027.
“The private sector's share in output amounts to 70%, attributed to private sector projects, in addition to its share in the workforce representing the main employer, with 80% of Egypt's workforce employed by the private sector according to the economic census issued by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS),” She said.
El Said clarified that the sovereign fund represents an investment arm of the Egyptian state and serves as a mechanism for partnership between the government and the private sector, diversifying sources of funding.
She pointed out efforts of the fund during the past period, including collaboration with several ministries and state institutions and the economic zone of the Suez Canal to transform Egypt into a regional hub for new and renewable energy, enhancing Egypt's competitive advantage. She stressed the importance of investing in electric vehicles and trains, underscoring the need to invest in general industries after investing in infrastructure to achieve and provide adequate transportation for the Egyptian citizens.
El Said reiterated the importance of supporting startups, small businesses, and entrepreneurship, along with efforts to reuse underutilized assets in partnership with the private sector.
She highlighted projects such as the Universal Village project, transformed into an educational complex in partnership with the private sector, and the Tahrir Complex, converted into a hotel and multi-purpose building.
She also mentioned the utilization of some private university buildings for management and development by the private sector. She pointed out that the sovereign fund has implemented 17 projects over the past four years with approximately EGP 52 billion in local investments and $5.1 billion in foreign investments.
Minister of Planning, Hala El-Said
