Heads of state and representatives of international organisations are among those who will participate in Egypt’s economic conference beginning on Friday. The forum reflects the need for significant investment in vital sectors of Egypt’s economy to raise their productivity and output, so as to meet citizens’ aspirations for better living standards.
Egypt is facing considerable challenges. These include a high unemployment rate, significant inflation, excessive fiscal and external debt levels and low international reserve buffers.
The conference will not be a panacea for all these and other troubles that have multiplied since 2011. However, it’s a good launching pad for rigorous investment efforts.
The event revolves around two central issues. One is a revamped investment law designed to encourage and facilitate investment in Egypt. The second is a set of 36 projects from a dozen sectors, worth about $60 billion (Dh 220bn). The government hopes to attract 50 to 75 per cent of their funding, including public-private partnerships.
Officials have expressed euphoria over the new investment law without disclosing many details of it. From the information that has emerged – it simplifies procedures for new ventures, redefines the scope of liability that forms the basis for legal procedures against violations and guarantees that investors can fully exercise their ownership rights and repatriate their capital – it seems reasonable.
However, any integration of corporate tax exemptions must be conservatively balanced with broader sustainable development goals. Minimal use of tax-based incentives would be consistent with – and demonstrate seriousness about – the five-year target of nearly halving the public deficit.
Mega projects such as the Suez Canal zone development programme and the One Million Feddan project are a major component of the plan to fast-forward the economy’s performance. The implementation of some of these investments will increase the narrow concentration of large-scale capital in Egypt. Government’s incentives for small- and medium-sized enterprises will therefore remain important.
Medium and small enterprises comprise 90 per cent of Egypt’s businesses. They are responsible for four-fifths of the country’s output and three-quarters of its employment. Therefore, to ensure the country’s stability, it’s necessary to create an environment in which these enterprises will thrive.
Egypt’s economy is considered diversified. Yet, just three sectors – agriculture, extraction industries and manufacturing – account for half of the total output. Extraction industries have attracted 60 per cent to 90 per cent of foreign investment over the past decade. This scenario will have to change to achieve more balanced economic expansion. Special incentives for vital sectors that need significant investment boosts are due.
Most important is the infrastructure network, as well as agriculture and tourism. The electricity and transport sectors, for example, account for less than 2 and 3 per cent of GDP, respectively. The meagreness of their contributions negatively affects all walks of life in Egypt. Renewable energy projects are a priority for the government, although the slide in hydrocarbon prices has eroded its relative cost competitiveness.
Agriculture is another sector that would benefit from progressive investment plans, while funding is also needed to bolster security in the country’s agricultural zones. In the short term, security concerns will impede brisk investment in the tourism sector that has enormous potential. Concerns for that sector should taper off as the economic recovery takes root.
The enthusiastic international participation in the upcoming conference signifies confidence in Egypt’s economic prospects, and support for its political transition. Translating this confidence into actual economic expansion will require increased participation of the international community in Egypt’s efforts to revive its economy to achieve broad-based prosperity.
Amal A Kandeel is an economist and director of Pioneers International, a services company specialising in the Middle East and North Africa
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The bio:
Favourite holiday destination: I really enjoyed Sri Lanka and Vietnam but my dream destination is the Maldives.
Favourite food: My mum’s Chinese cooking.
Favourite film: Robocop, followed by The Terminator.
Hobbies: Off-roading, scuba diving, playing squash and going to the gym.
The Florida Project
Director: Sean Baker
Starring: Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince, Willem Dafoe
Four stars
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 611bhp
Torque: 620Nm
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Price: upon application
On sale: now
McLaren GT specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed
Power: 620bhp
Torque: 630Nm
Price: Dh875,000
On sale: now
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The Equaliser 2
Director Antoine Fuqua
Starring: Denzel Washington, Bill Pullman, Melissa Leo, Ashton Sanders
Three stars
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Brief scoreline
Switzerland 0
England 0
Result: England win 6-5 on penalties
Man of the Match: Trent Alexander-Arnold (England)
Rajasthan Royals 153-5 (17.5 ov)
Delhi Daredevils 60-4 (6 ov)
Rajasthan won by 10 runs (D/L method)
England Test squad
Ben Stokes (captain), Joe Root, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Alex Lees, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts
Warlight,
Michael Ondaatje, Knopf
The specs
BMW M8 Competition Coupe
Engine 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8
Power 625hp at 6,000rpm
Torque 750Nm from 1,800-5,800rpm
Gearbox Eight-speed paddleshift auto
Acceleration 0-100kph in 3.2 sec
Top speed 305kph
Fuel economy, combined 10.6L / 100km
Price from Dh700,000 (estimate)
On sale Jan/Feb 2020
The low down
Producers: Uniglobe Entertainment & Vision Films
Director: Namrata Singh Gujral
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Nargis Fakhri, Bo Derek, Candy Clark
Rating: 2/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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How to join and use Abu Dhabi’s public libraries
• There are six libraries in Abu Dhabi emirate run by the Department of Culture and Tourism, including one in Al Ain and Al Dhafra.
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