(AFP Photo)
Egypt formed a committee with representatives of the Egyptian Customs Authority (ECA), Egyptian Tax Authority (ETA), and representatives from Samsung to solve the issues standing in the way of investments for the company in Egypt, said cabinet spokesperson Hossam El-Kawish.
Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim Minister met on Tuesday with the chairman of Samsung Egypt, in the presence of Minister of Communications Khaled Negm, in order to discuss Samsung’s expansion plans in the Egyptian market.
The company has been working in Egypt for only two years, and its factories in Beni Suef brought the most modern global technologies in high-resolution TVs in Egypt, according to Samsung’s chairman. This created almost 2,400 job opportunities.
During his meeting with Mehleb, the chairman said that Samsung Egypt produces products worth around $1bn, which is 85% of its production volume.
“We plan to increase our investments in Egypt through building three factories for refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners, with investments worth $300m,” the chairman said. Through the factories, the company will apply new environmentally friendly technology.
However, during the meeting, the chairman said that his company is facing various obstacles in customs and taxes, adding that resolving these issues will contribute to speeding up the operations of the factories.
El-Kawish stated that the prime minister formed a committee to meet the chairman’s demands and resolve all the obstacles facing them.
Mehleb also studied the proposal for legal amendments that would facilitate the establishment of the new production lines in the three factories, added El-Kawish, due to their importance in creating job opportunities for the youth of Upper Egypt and opening the door for exports.
Mehleb reassured Samsung Egypt’s officials that the government’s role is to eliminate bureaucracy and any obstacles standing in the way of attracting investments.
The prime minister affirmed that the government fully supports the investments and activities of the company and its factories in Beni Suef, and it looks forward to the company pumping more investments in the upcoming period.
Mehleb expressed his gratitude to Samsung leaders for their active participation in the Economic Summit in Sharm El-Sheikh and their contribution to its success.
Samsung Egypt had issues in providing hard currency through banks in Egypt, in light of the scarcity of foreign currency in the Egyptian market due to low tourist income and slow pumping of direct foreign investments.
According to El-Kawish, Mehleb told the Samsung chairman that Egypt is the gateway to Africa, which gives Samsung the additional advantage of entering new markets in Africa. Egypt aims to utilise the company’s experience in training technical workers, according to Mehleb.
The prime minister had previously proposed cooperation between Egypt and Samsung during the Economic Summit, in the field of training technical workers, which would help increase and transfer experiences.
