(AFP Photo)
The British Gas Group (BG) expressed concerns over investments in Egypt due to the recent political unrest in the country in its second quarter earnings report released 26 July.
BG chief executive Chris Finlayson said: “Events in Egypt remain a primary concern and will continue to be so as the political, social and business environment evolves.”
The company described the environment for investment in Egypt as “challenging”.
“The recovery of receivables and the full realisation of the carrying value of the Group’s Egyptian operations remain dependent on the business environment in Egypt, which the BG Group continues to monitor closely,” the company added.
The group said although its offshore operations were unaffected, higher than agreed gas volumes were diverted into the domestic market during the second quarter of 2013, which impacted volumes available for Liquefied National Gas (LNG) export.
The statement noted that an agreement was formed between Egypt and Qatar for an initial five compensatory LNG cargoes, with two allocated to the BG Group.
Trade and Export Finance Limited (TAEFL), a UK financial consulting company, also addressed the same issue in its July newsletter, stating that “indeterminate risk is a situation facing many companies dealing with Egypt at present.”
The newsletter added: “the change of government in somewhat unconventional circumstances increased uncertainty by several orders of magnitude.”
In his latest meeting at the Egyptian Union Investors Association (EUIA), Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour said that the government is determined to address the challenges of the business community.
