(AFP Photo)
HSBC Group believes in the long-term future of Egypt, said Mona El-Sayed, Head of Commercial Banking, HSBC Bank Egypt during her speech in the Invest in Egypt Conference on Thursday.
El-Sayed added that the bank remains committed to investing in the growth of its business in the country.
HSBC sees a lot of growth opportunities for Egypt and view it as an attractive market for investers, El-Sayed said. She attributes Egypt’s favourable demographics, strong industrial base, current and emerging trading partners and strong international connectivity as a reason for this outlook.
”A project like Suez Canal and the development of the area’s industrial zones offer an anchor for Egypt’s development strategy and could act as a potential draw for foreign investment in addition to further infrastructure and public utilities projects that are currently in the pipeline,” added El-Sayed.
CEO of EFG-Hermes Karim Awad said during his speech there is an understanding in Egypt that tough reforms need to be tackled. He added that the government is showing that it understands these to extend equally to austerity measures and to the resolution of investor disputes and slashing of red tape.
Awad said investors have drawn considerable comfort, for example, from the government’s willingness to cut subsidies, which they see as a proactive step to resolve structural issues in the economy.
“Provided we continue to make consistent progress along these lines, I would expect to see substantial FDI [foreign direct investment] inflows following the Egypt investment summit scheduled for March,” Awad added.
UAE Minister of State Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber emphasised that Egypt’s stability is vital to regional security. He highlighted that helping Egypt achieve its economic and political goals will assuredly translate into positive returns for the region at large.
Al-Jaber also emphasised that it is important that the business community support Egypt’s economic development by focusing on industries that create jobs and support the overall social development of the country.
