Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr said that Egypt will be among the biggest beneficiaries of World Bank shareholders’ decision to increase its capital, as increases will be allocated to countries that have succeeded in implementing economic reform plans, including Egypt.
The minister also announced that the value of investments in Egypt increased since the implementation of the economic reform programme, revealing that the number of companies established in Egypt has increased by 100% since the beginning of 2018 compared to the same period of last year.
She made the remarks during her speech on the sidelines of the inauguration of Portfolio Egypt Conference 2018 on Sunday.
The conference was organised by Al Mal GTM under the title of “Opportunities and challenges of the reforms era”. It was attended by Khalid El Nashar, deputy chairperson at the Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA); Mohsen Adel, vice president of the Egyptian Exchange; Mohamed Abd El Salam, chairperson of Misr for Central Clearing, Depository, and Registry; and a number of investors.
Nasr noted that Egypt is one of the five countries that have a strategic position on China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which received great attention and discussion during the Spring Meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) that were held in Washington from 19 to 20 April.
On the other hand, the minister stressed that the state will make optimal use of non-banking financial activities, such as microfinance, insurance, finance leasing, real estate finance, the financial markets, to achieve financial inclusion.
Moreover, she stressed that the ministry’s short-term plan aims to complete the economic reform process, especially after gaining investor confidence.
In that regard, she also assured that she felt foreign investors’ optimism in Egypt’s investment atmosphere during her participation in the Spring Meetings of the World Bank and IMF.
She pointed out that Egypt’s political and economic stability has stimulated the flow of investments during the recent period, especially with the large size of the Egyptian market.
Last week, during the Spring Meetings, World Bank shareholders approved an increase in the institution’s paid-up capital of $13bn.
That increase meant total loans will be raised to $80bn in 2019, up from about $59bn last year on average, and will reach $100bn by 2030.
Moreover, the Spring Meetings covered issues related to monetary policy, the economic and social programme of the government, and the progress made in the Egyptian economic reform programme. Egypt has embarked on a bold economic reform programme that included the introduction of taxes, such as the value added tax (VAT), cutting energy subsides, and the flotation of the Egyptian pound, all with the aim of decreasing the budget deficit.
