Egypt held the fourth edition of Investment for Africa Forum 2019 in the New Administrative Capital (NAC) on November 22 and 23, under the patronage of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, in a bid to “forge investment deals and make announcements of numerous megaprojects that will contribute to inclusive and sustainable growth in the African continent.”
On the sidelines of the conference, and in the presence of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, several officials and dignitaries have signed 11 agreements, with investments estimated at USD 3 bn (EGP 48.5 bn), as follows:
– Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs):
Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr signed two MoUs with Angola’s Minister of Economy and Planning Pedro Luís da Fonseca and Djibouti’s National Investment Promotion Agency Mahdi Darar Obsieh. The agreements are aimed at promoting investment opportunities in Egypt, notably in the fields of tourism, industry, infrastructure, construction, healthcare, among others, in addition to the establishment of joint development and economic projects. The MoUs also provide a platform for the exchange of information and the arrangement of various business visits.
– Development Agreements with Foreign Institutions:
(1) The minister of investment and international cooperation inked an agreement with General Manager of Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development Abdel Wahab Badr for a loan worth USD 83 mn (EGP 1.340 bn) for a road project within the second phase of the Sinai Development Program. All in all, the fund contributed to financing 52 Egypt-based projects at a total value of USD 4.3 bn (EGP 69 bn).
(2) Nasr and Country Director of the French Agency (AFD) in Egypt Fabio Grazi have inked an annex to the framework agreement inked between Egypt and the agency in 2006. Under the deal, the agency’s subsidiary, PROPARCO, will be exempted from taxes and customs including the value-added tax (VAT).
(3) The minister also signed a USD 43 mn (EGP 695 mn) grant agreement with China’s Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang for the development of education and health projects. The ambassador said his country eyes further investments and provision of more grants for financing development projects to Egypt.
(4) Chairman of the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (MSME) Nivine Gamea partnered with President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Werner Hoyer to secure EGP 50 mn out of USD 99 mn (EGP 1.6 bn) for SMEs development in Egypt.
(5) The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (EBRD) President Suma Chakrabarti and Nasr signed two agreements; the first is worth USD 201 mn (EGP 3.250 bn), aiming to upgrade Egypt’s national electricity grid, whilst the second is valued at USD 50 mn (EGP 807 mn), coming to add up a new asphalt production line to the Suez Oil Processing Company.
(6) The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) CEO Hani Salem Sonbol inked an agreement with President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) Benedict Oramah to deliver the first tranche, worth USD 100 mn (EGP 1.6 bn), of a loan totaling USD 500 mn (EGP 8.075 mn), aiming to facilitate import and export transactions between Egypt and African countries.
– Foreign Private Investments:
(1) Nasr inked two agreements with CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) Adam Boehler, the first of which aims to pump USD 430 mn (EGP 6.75 bn) investments in Noble Energy company to invest in the East Mediterranean Gas Company’s (EMG) subsea pipeline. The second deal forges cooperation between Noble and Dolphinus in petroleum-products manufacturing.
(2) Lekela Egypt announced it has started the construction of a 250-megawatt wind plant in West Bakr in the Gulf of Suez, with investments amounted to USD 350 mn (EGP 5.65 bn).
