Danfoss Group, a global producer of cooling and heating devices, aims to make Egypt the company’s regional hub for exporting its products to Africa within the coming years.
Ziad Al Bawaliz, Danfoss regional president for Turkey, the Middle East, and Africa, said the company prepared a strategy to increase its investments in cooling, heating, and air conditioning devices in Egypt, as well as providing energy-saving solutions in the construction market.
He pointed out that Danfoss’ business volume declined at the beginning of 2011, but the political and economic stability witnessed in Egypt over the last three years contributed to increasing the group’s business volume again.
He pointed out that the Egyptian market is promising and can attract more foreign investments in the coming period, especially under the economic reform plan adopted by the Egyptian government.
Al Bawaliz noted that there are a number of projects in Egypt that push foreign investment flows, notably the Suez Canal Area Development Project and the 1.5m feddan reclamation project.
He revealed that Danfoss intends to cooperate with technical education providers in Egypt through providing international trainers specialised in heating, cooling, and air conditioning, to link academic study with the labour market in Egypt.
Al Bawaliz pointed out that his company’s website offered free online training for students and technicians who wish to develop their skills in the refrigeration and air conditioning fields.
On the other hand, Al Bawaliz said that the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE)’s decision to liberalise the local exchange rate contributed to rebuilding foreign investors’ confidence in the Egyptian market. He added that foreign companies were suffering from instability of the exchange rate in Egypt before the pound’s floatation, which boosted the financial situation of companies and the whole economy as well.
He stressed that Egypt is on the right path towards a stable and safe economy, away from the fluctuations witnessed by a number of Arab countries such as Yemen, Iraq, and Syria.
Al Bawaliz said that the regulatory bodies in Egypt are considered the most professional ones among Arab and African countries, especially regarding counterfeited consumer goods, global trade in which reached about $250bn.
He pointed out that Egypt’s regulatory bodies seized a large amount of counterfeit equipment used in air conditioners before they were funnelled into the local market, stressing that such equipment may cause disasters such as fires in housing units and factories.
