Egypt uses visit to shore up investor confidence

Egypt's Minister of Investment Osama Saleh Tuesday reassured Chinese enterprises regarding the investment environment in the post-revolution country, in a bid to boost the local economy during a critical transition period for the nation.

The minister made comments on the sidelines of the Egypt China Economic and Business Forum in Beijing, which was attended by about 80 Egyptian entrepreneurs and representatives from 200 Chinese enterprises.

The two-day forum is among a series of events being held during Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi's state visit to China.

Saleh told reporters that it is a very challenging time to restructure and put Egypt's economy back on track following the revolution that started on January 25, 2011.

The revolution, which saw the ousting of Hosni Mubarak and the establishment of an elected civilian leadership, has caused a failing economy and the suspension of a number of investment projects, including investments by Chinese enterprises, during a time of social unrest.

The minister said that Egypt has signed agreements with countries like China on investment protection, noting that any government who comes to power has to respect those agreements.

According to Saleh, Egypt's Ministry of Investment has set up a team to help investors ensure that no interruptions affect their business operations.

"We worked together with the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Labor to work 24 hours (a day) for all the investors, and we also worked with ambassadors in different countries," said Saleh.

Saleh added that every day, the country is working to ensure a stable environment for investors.

More than 1,100 Chinese enterprises have invested in Egypt. Egypt's business delegation has set out an ambitious target to quadruple Chinese investment, which stands at around $500 million now, within the coming three years.

Saleh said China and Egypt have more potential to improve their business ties.

China now ranks 25th in terms of Egypt's sources of foreign investment.

With a bilateral trade volume of $8.8 billion in 2011, Egypt is hoping to draw more Chinese capital to offset a trade deficit.

As China is increasing its investment into Africa, Saleh said Egypt could be the gateway for its investment into the continent, adding that it could also facilitate the flow of Chinese goods to markets in Europe, America, Africa and Arab countries given its geographical position.

The forum will conclude on Wednesday.

It is the first time such a huge business mission has come to China from Egypt with such diverse representation covering all the vital economic sectors including infrastructure, construction, tourism, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals and textiles, according to Hassan Malek, an Egyptian businessman who is among the delegation.