Minister of Investment Ashraf Salman said capital increases will be proposed for some public sector companies, operating in different fields including insurance, within three months.
A source within the insurance sector said the public sector company, Misr Insurance, will be the first company to register its increase in the stock market, and will meet with Salman soon to agree upon the increase value and the time of the proposed increase, as well as the investment bank responsible for the proposal.
Salman said the presidency strongly supports the stock market and increasing the number of registered companies as a way to increase funding. Salman said, during a COMESA preparatory press conference on Tuesday, that the Egyptian private sector aims to increase its direct investments in the African market to over $7.9bn in the upcoming years.
He pointed out that 21 African investment commissions will propose investment opportunities during the COMESA meeting in February. These projects will come in various sectors, including energy, infrastructure, telecommunications and information technology, agriculture, medicine, and health.
The COMESA conference aims to assemble African private investors to discuss the means for strengthening the trade exchange, the provision of information, and investment balance. Salman said the COMESA conference will mainly be attended by the private sector, and that the government will support the investment environment for the purpose of cooperating with African countries.
The volume of trade with some African countries is still unsatisfactory and there are efforts taken to increase it, Salman continued, noting that Africa is still suffering a shortage in companies in different economic fields.
He said the conference aims to achieve a high degree of integration between Egyptian and Africans investors to present the African market in a professional and competitive level among the international business communities
“Egyptian businessmen and African investors will help present Africa in a different way to the world,” he said. Africa is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, supported by rising consumer spending and a capable workforce.
There has been serious consultation on liberalising trade between African countries in the upcoming period, to support commercial and investment exchange by facilitating the movement of capital.
Coordinator of General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) Alaa Omar said Egypt is currently reviewing all trade agreements with African countries to maximise the use of them. The African market is still the focus of the world investors, especially since it is ready for investments in infrastructure, despite the difficulties experienced by the global economy, giving Egypt a chance to take advantage of that.
Director of COMESA’s Regional Investment Agency Heba Salama said Africa still enjoys a high return on investment. The conference aims to overcome all errors with trade in Africa. The European market has been saturated with investments over the past years, making Africa a new world hotspot for investments. She said many local and international banks are very interested in funding investment and trade in the African region, especially in infrastructure projects.
Chairman of the State Information Service Salah Eddin Abdel Sadek said he will work to facilitate the work of foreign media to cover the conference and provide all necessary information for its success to convey a message to the world that Africa is ready for investments.
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