The legislative reforms undertaken by Egypt will stimulate investments and will work on attracting foreign investments in different sectors during the upcoming period, said Omnia Saad Kelig, Managing Director of El Naeem Financial Investments, a subsidiary of El Naeem Holding.
The capital value of El Naeem Holding is estimated at $283m, and the company has four arms. The first is a company for managing assets, the second is a brokerage firm, the third is related to financial investments, and the last is related to real estate investment.
According to Kelig, in an interview with Daily News Egypt, investment banks played an important role in the preparation of studies of projects that were proposed in the Egypt Economic Development Conference (EEDC).
What was the role that investment banks played in the EEDC mid-March?
The government’s choice of investment banks to provide studies related to the projects proposed in the conference was very smart, and investment banks are able to reach investors and address them by providing these studies, as well as financial consultations for the project they’re looking for and want to inject investments in.
That was before the conference. What comes 45 days after the conference?
The real role played by investment banks is not represented in providing the studies related to the projects proposed in the Sharm El Sheikh conference; it is represented in the promotion of these projects after the conference. There are large hopes on the promotional process of these projects abroad.
Investment banks have already launched promotional plans for the projects proposed in the Sharm El-Sheikh conference. Promotion will not be limited to Gulf markets; it will extend to European markets through proposing these opportunities at various economic events.
What are the projects that the company provides studies for?
The company has seven projects in all sectors of industry; real estate, agricultural residues and telecommunications, but most importantly the real estate sector.
El Naeem Financial Investments provides the fiscal studies related to the project owned by El Nasr for Building and Construction, one of the companies in the business sector. El Nasr Company owns the land located in the central area of Moqattam, at 750,000 metres.
Expected investments in the project are estimated at EGP 5bn for the construction of a shopping mall, a residential and administrative compound, and a hotel.
What about the second project?
This project’s fiscal studies are provided for the benefit of the Egyptian Ministry of the Environment. It involves the recycling of agricultural waste of rice, straw and cotton.
The benefit of the project is not only limited to the financial aspect, it also extends to the social realm by creating additional income for Egyptian farmers to raise their standards of living.
The project is part of a group of labour-intensive projects, which will be classified according to different agricultural crops.
The investment cost of the project is estimated at EGP 1.5bn, and will be inaugurated nationwide.
There is another project that involves establishing a maize factory to produce fructose. The project is considered one of the private sector’s successes, whereby El Naeem has invested $155m in it, as it acquired 136,000 sqm.
The factory aims to grind 150 tonnes per day of maize.
Through investing in the project, El Naeem Holding wanted to express that Egypt’s investment climate is positive, even at the darkest times.
There is another project with the Industrial Development Authority, in which the company provides the studies related to the extraction of limestone in Minya, with an investment cost of $10m. The project will work on extracting calcium carbonate, which is used in the aluminium industry.
How do investment banks perceive the effects of the legislative reforms made by the government on the investment climate in Egypt?
The most important features of the unified investment law involve the removal of criminal sanctions on investors so long as any harm done to public funds is unintentional.
The launching of the one-stop shop will serve investors in receiving approvals in a short period, which will eventually turn Egypt into a country that attracts investments.
The tax cuts on capital goods will increase industrial investments during the upcoming period.
What is your opinion on the Gulf countries’ support to the Egyptian economy throughout the last period, and their involvement in the conference?
The support of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait to Egypt was very important.
The upcoming period will be one of attracting financial investments in various sectors, whether real estate, energy, agriculture or industry.
Did your company receive offers to provide consultations to any of these projects?
There are very strong offers from Arab and Egyptian investors for the provision of financial consultations in the field of energy. However, I cannot disclose them.
