20 decisions to increase industrial investment in Egypt

The Egyptian government aims to raise industrial investment rates in a
sustainable manner, deepen and localize the industry, grow local supply chains, deepen interactions.

These come within the framework of the state’s plan to increase the economic growth rate to between 7% and 9% to provide job opportunities sufficient to reduce unemployment rates.

In order to achieve this, the government took 20 decisions to stimulate industrial investment, which are:

1- Establishing a unit headed by the Council of Ministers to follow up on licenses, follow up on investors registered in the Ministry of Trade and Industry database (May 2022), and inventory the total unofficial fees that are collected from industrial complexes and for which no law has been issued, which may result in additional financial or procedural burdens.

2- The Minister of Finance issued Resolution No. (212) of 2022 suspending the payment of value-added tax on machinery and equipment imported from abroad for factories and production units for a period of one year from the date of its release (May 2022), and dropping the tax immediately after the start of production, as well as on goods or services that are exported abroad or imported by economic zone projects of a special nature.

3- Reducing the import tax on more than 150 types of production supplies and inputs to stimulate national industry (June 2022).

4- Allocating 1.1 billion pounds in the budget (2022/2023) to complete the facilities of 13 industrial complexes in the governorates, allocating 5 billion pounds to support electricity for industrial sectors, and allocating 3 billion pounds as part of huge financial incentives that were announced to deepen the automotive industry in Egypt, starting from the current fiscal year in particular to encourage the transition to using gas and electricity.

5- The government periodically follows up on the implementation of the 100 measures to stimulate investment in the industrial sector (July 2022), of which 81 measures have been implemented, according to a precise timetable, while the remaining 19 measures are under implementation.

6- Preparing a new system of procedures to facilitate the issuance of licenses for industrial facilities, in accordance with Law 15 of 2017 (July 2022), and according to these procedures, the General Authority for Industrial Development, on behalf of the investor, will coordinate with the relevant authorities to issue all approvals and permits.

7- Suspension of the real estate tax, as of January 1, 2023, for a period of 3 years for 19 industrial sectors, in accordance with Prime Minister’s Resolution No. (61) of 2022 (August 2022), at an expected total cost of about 3.3 billion pounds.

8- Issuing Law No. (153 of 2022) to exceed 65% of late fines or interest and the additional tax on arrears of taxes, customs, and real estate tax, on the condition that the original tax is paid before the end of August 2022, and the remaining 35% that has not been waived is paid no later than 1 March 2023.

9- The issuance of Prime Minister’s Resolution No. (3308 of 2022) regarding procedures for the immediate allocation of industrial lands at fixed prices according to the cost of facilities.

10- The committee formed pursuant to Prime Minister’s Decision No. (2067 of 2022) will collect, study, and take the necessary measures for the immediate allocation of the attached industrial lands to investors after they complete the required documents (September 2022), provided that the disposal of the industrial lands is based on the (ownership-usufruct) system.

11- Launching the Egyptian Industries Development Initiative “Ibdaa” [which translates to start] to support and localize national industries to rely on the local product and reduce imports (October 2022), by enhancing the role of the private sector in localizing many large, medium, small and micro industries, while providing a number of incentives in the form of Land, tax exemptions, etc.

12- 126 high-risk advance industrial licenses were issued during the period (October 2022 – February 2023) by the Industrial Development Authority. As of February 2023, 8 consulting offices were approved to evaluate facilities’ compliance with standards, and the Environmental Affairs Agency issued more than 177 environmental approvals during the period from (October 2022-February 2023), and environmental approval is issued within 7 days.

13- The state’s public treasury bore more than 590 million pounds, the value of the “Green Incentive” as part of the presidential initiative to replace vehicles (November 2022), and more than 24,000 citizens benefited from it until November 2022.

14- Launching the unified digital Egypt Industrial Platform for industrial services and licenses, which witnessed the digitization of 381 services until December 2022 that are provided electronically.

15- The Ministry of Trade and Industry prepared the National Strategy for Industrial Development (2022/2023-2026/2027), which is based on attracting investments to deepen the industry by targeting priority industrial sectors in which Egypt has a manufacturing base, opportunities and competitive advantages.

16- Preparing a list of (152) investment opportunities for industrial products that can be manufactured locally instead of importing them from abroad, based on identifying 131 customs items that can be manufactured locally. These products represent a good opportunity for companies wishing to deepen local manufacturing and reduce dependence on the products. Imported to enhance the productive capabilities of industrial facilities and improve their resources.

17- Approving a package of facilitations and incentives for industrial projects for which lands or industrial units have previously been allocated by the Industrial Development Authority (session No. 226 dated January 25, 2023), the most important of which is granting a period of 6 months to industrial projects within the implementation timetable, whether during the extraction phase.

18- Pricing industrial lands in the Republic and determining the method of dealing with them, whether through ownership or usufruct.

19- Completion of the establishment of 17 industrial complexes with 5,046 factories in 15 governorates. Procedures were also facilitated and these areas were facilitated, and the cost of connecting facilities was paid in installments so that operation could begin immediately.

20- Inventorying 49 committees of all the troubled factories, and working to solve the causes of their failure through financing, participation in marketing work, or other procedures, which led to a number of factories returning to work again, and coordination is being made with the rest of the troubled factories in order to solve their problem, as There is a unit that facilitates the establishment of industrial complexes or factories for the new investor, and facilitates obtaining licenses in light of coordination between various parties in Egypt.

Source:https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/3/127161/Highlight-20-decisions-to-increase-industrial-investment-in-Egypt

Egypt adopts new strategy to increase industry’s contribution to domestic product by 20%

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The Egyptian Ministry of Industry is currently approaching the preparation of the national strategy for industry, which focuses on attracting investments to deepen the industry.

The ministry is targeting prioritizing industrial sectors in which Egypt has an industrial base, opportunities and competitive advantages at the regional and global levels.

The strategy aims to achieve a number of goals by the fiscal year 2026/2027, the most important of which is increasing the industry’s share of the GDP reaching 20% and the export growth rate reaches between 18-25% annually.

An analysis of Egyptian imports was conducted over 4 consecutive years and a number of priority industries were identified on which other industries depend.

A total of 152 investment opportunities were identified, including 92 opportunities to manufacture production requirements for the Egyptian industry to ensure the sustainability of supply chains.

This project was started by allocating 160 plots of land. Its area is about 1.252 million square meters, with an investment of 17 billion pounds, and an expected workforce of 26 thousand workers.

A number of strategic industries were identified to be granted exceptional incentives to attract global industrial entities. The value-added chains of these industries were analyzed to determine raw materials and their availability in Egypt.

The Ministry also identified new investment incentives to be granted to these industries, which include tax exemptions and the recovery of a percentage of the value of the facilities in the event of completion. of the project in half the scheduled period.

Source:https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/3/127435/Egypt-adopts-new-strategy-to-increase-industry%E2%80%99s-contribution-to-

Localizing electric car industry is consistent with Egypt’s vision to reduce import bill

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President of the General Syndicate for Engineering, Metallurgical and Electrical Industries, Engineer Khaled Al-Feki, revealed that there are serious steps Egypt is taking to localize the traditional and electric car industry.

This comes within the framework of the directives of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, to localize the industry locally, and thus significantly reduce the import bill.

Al-Feki, who is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Holding Company for Metallurgical Industries, added that Al-Nasr Automotive Company has a good plan to manufacture cars with a local component of no less than 45%, and this will increase gradually over the coming years until it is possible to build with the participation of an international company in Egypt to manufacture cars entirely inside Egypt, which represents an important shift. For the national industry, explaining that this matter will contribute to achieving suitable car exports to the African, European and other markets based on Egyptian trade agreements.

Al-Feki pointed out that Dr. Engineer Khaled Mohamed Shedid, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Al-Nasr Automotive Company, one of the Holding Companies for Metallurgical Industries, presented a clear vision towards manufacturing a traditional and electric Egyptian car in partnership with international companies during the company’s recent general assembly, which is a vision that is consistent with the vision of the Egyptian state and the directives of President Sisi to localize the industry.

The head of the General Union of Engineering Industries appreciated the government’s efforts towards reducing the import bill and seeking to manufacture more than 150 products that are imported by local companies, which contributes to reducing the import bill by about 40 billion dollars annually if they are manufactured locally.

Source:https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/3/127589/Localizing-electric-car-industry-is-consistent-with-Egypt-s-vision

Egyptian president discusses investment with Italy’s Danieli Group

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President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi received Wednesday Chairman and CEO of Italy’s Danieli Group Gianpietro Benedetti who stated that the company planned to expand its activities in Egypt.

That is by establishing green industrial complexes capitalizing on incentives offered by Egypt, recently-introduced advanced infrastructure, as well as regional and global trade agreements.

President Sisi told Benedetti that Egypt aims for the localization of different industries and technology, expressing hope that the Italian company, specialized in supplying equipment and physical plants to the metal industry, to also introduce training center for Egyptian workers.

The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli, Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala al-Said, Minister of Public Enterprise Mahmoud Essmat, and Chairman of the Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI) Mokhtar Abdel Latif.

Source:https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/1/127607/Egyptian-president-discusses-investment-with-Italy-s-Danieli-Group

Egypt’s Sisi: Main goal of industry sector is meeting local market’s needs

“The [Egyptian] state’s biggest goal for the industry sector is to meet the needs of the Egyptian market,” said President Abdel Fattah El Sisi during the inauguration of the 2nd edition of the annual international exhibition for industry, on Saturday.

He added that Egypt seeks to support the industry sector to provide job opportunities, noting that the government also seeks to diversify the components of the local product in industries.

“We will work to establish industrial facilities, in which factories bear only the cost of the machines,” he said, noting that the government has established several industrial zones nationwide

Additionally, he said that the government will set up 100 schools for technical education nationwide to enhance the industrial sector.

“Students in schools must be taught that they are responsible for the success and development of institutions,” he continued.

President Sisi requests a minute of silence for the lives of civilian victims in Gaza, who were killed by Israeli non-stop airstrikes.

He highlighted that Qualifying the worker and increasing his awareness are important elements for bringing about a shift in the field of industry.

Source:https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/1/128083/Egypt%E2%80%99s-Sisi-Main-goal-of-industry-sector-is-meeting-local

Egypt to enhance export rates in 7 industrial sectors

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According to an Institute of National Planning report cited by local media, Egypt is actively working to boost its export rates in seven key industrial sectors.

These sectors include computer manufacturing, electronic and optical products, and metal industries.

The report also highlighted other sectors targeted for improvement, namely chemical products manufacturing, leather products, the paper and rubber industry, the plastics industry, electrical machinery and equipment, and the food, beverage, and tobacco products industry, as well as the clothing and textile industry.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry to conduct a study aimed at localizing ten industries. These industries include railway industries, textile industry, medical device industry, and food industry, as mentioned in the report.

The manufacturing industries sector plays a significant role in employment, with over 3.4 million workers engaged in various fields, according to the report. The food industries sector accounts for the largest share of employment, representing approximately 57 percent of the workforce, as indicated by the employment index.

In July, the Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC) reported a projected decrease in the non-oil trade deficit for the second quarter of 2023. The deficit is expected to be $7.5 billion, reflecting a 9.6 percent reduction compared to the previous quarter. This decline is primarily attributed to the decrease in the value of non-oil imports.

Source:https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/3/128260/Egypt-to-enhance-export-rates-in-7-industrial-sectors

Sports industry valued at $5B in 2023

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Sports industry is valued over $5 billion in 2023, policy advocate specialist, Phiwe Hlatshwayo, cited the global sports market report 2023.

Hlatshwayo affirmed that Africa’s sports industry has potential to drive economic growth and development.

She emphasized the transformative power of sports in shaping Africa’s future, elaborating that sports is a tool for social cohesion, equality, economic growth, and international cooperation.

Hlatshwayo highlighted during a speech, titled, “the business of sports in Africa” the economic impact of sports, citing examples like the 2010 World Cup in South Africa contributing significantly to the national GDP.

“The 2010 World Cup in South Africa contributed over $5 million to the national GDP. The 2010 World Cup also generated direct impact on labor with over that with 1000s of jobs being created through infrastructure construction, hospitality, which showed the potential for the business of sports to significantly shape Africa’s economic future,” she stated.

Hlatshwayo referred to the challenges, saying that the continent faces challenges such as lack of financing, and reliable data.

“It’s imperative that we gather pertinent data to inform decision makers bridge the talent management gap. Investing in sports education and training in schools is vital to identify and nurture young talent,” she said.

She concluded the speech by sports has the power to build hope, unity, and cohesion in Africa.

This came during a presentation on the second day of IATF2023 which is currently being held in Egypt from Nov. 9 to 15.

The IATF2023, which is the third edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair, provides a platform for businesses to access an integrated African market of over 1.3 billion people with a GDP of over $3.5 trillion created under the African Continental Free Trade Area, according to the African Union.

Source:https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/3/128371/Sports-industry-valued-at-5B-in-2023

Italian Mapei completes first phase of its $25M factory

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Italy’s Mapei invests about $25 million to establish a factory in Egypt with a production capacity of up to 100 thousand tons annually. This came during Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly’s inspection of Mapei’s factory during his tour to visit factories on the 10th of Ramadan City and El Obour City.

The Regional Area Manager Middle East & East Africa at Mapei, Andrea Perini said that the factory extends over an area of 28,000-meters established on two stages with a total investments of 25 million dollars stating that the first stage of the factory was finished. The factory is scheduled to open next year.

Perini asserted that the factory employed 100 workers, highlighting that the production capacity of the factory is 100 tons annually.

Madbouly highlighted Egypt’s keenness to deepen local production and encourage and empower the private sector, pointing out that the Egyptian market is huge and encourages pumping investments in it.

Earlier this year, The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), said that the trade volume between Egypt and Italy increased in 2021 by 29 percent to reach $5.8 billion compared to $4.5 billion recorded in the previous year.

Moreover, Italian investments in Egypt increased by 40.3 percent during the first quarter of the financial year of 2021/22, reaching $448.8 million.

Source:https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/3/128595/Italian-Mapei-completes-first-phase-of-its-25M-factory

Saudi National Housing Co. joins Cityscape Global as founding partner

Saudi Arabia’s National Housing Co. has partnered with the Cityscape Global real estate exhibition in a bid to boost property activity in the Kingdom.

The event, scheduled from Sept. 10 to 13 at the Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Center in Mulham, will be held under the patronage of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

This partnership highlights the National Housing Co.’s commitment to the growth and development of the real estate sector in Saudi Arabia.

The company will occupy the largest pavilion in the exhibition, covering an area of 2,000 sq. meters, showcasing key projects that have contributed to increasing the real estate supply in the Kingdom. These include the Khuzam suburb and the Al-Fursan suburb.

The pavilion will also provide access to investment opportunities and the latest regulatory technical solutions through advanced technical systems.

Real estate development partners of the National Housing Co. will also participate in the exhibition, the SPA report added.

The event will bring together exhibitors from the real estate industry, and is set to attract those seeking investment opportunities in the sector.

It will feature projects related to Saudi Vision 2030 and host panel discussions on urban transformations, real estate opportunities, and innovations in architecture, design, and city planning.

Additionally, the exhibition will include major developments shaping the Kingdom’s real estate future, attracting thousands of potential real estate buyers, sector experts, and over 2,000 investors.

There will also be over 350 exhibitors and more than 250 international and local speakers who will share their views and experiences within the sector.

Saudi Arabia’s housing demand is expected to increase by more than 50 percent by 2030, reaching 153,000 houses, up from 99,600 houses in 2021.

Source:https://www.arabnews.com/node/2367196

Share of digital payments in Saudi Arabia hits 62%, says SAMA official

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Egyptian presidential spokesman Ahmad Fahmi has said that Italian energy major Eni is planning to invest $7.7 billion in the country.

The announcement was made after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with Eni’s CEO Claudio Descalzi, where he lauded the firm’s activities in his country.

The meeting was also attended by Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla and senior Eni officials.

In August, El-Sisi revealed that Egypt will receive a $3.5 billion investment from UK multinational oil and gas company BP over the next three years.

During the meeting with BP CEO Bernard Looney, the president highlighted Egypt’s desire to strengthen cooperation with the company, including in emissions reduction, energy transition and green hydrogen production.

In August, a report from Knight Frank had suggested that sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East region could inject as much as $120 billion into Egypt over the next few years.

In its report, Knight Frank noted that major global powers including Saudi Arabia, the US, the UK, the UAE, South Korea, and China have renewed their investment interests in the African continent, especially after the recovery from the pandemic.

Acquisition

Affirming Egypt’s potential as a prospective investment destination, the UAE’s Global Investment Holding Co. has agreed to buy a 30 percent stake in tobacco manufacturer Eastern Co. for $625 million.

According to a statement from Egypt’s Cabinet published on Facebook, Global Investment Holding will also provide Eastern Co. with $150 million for the purchase of raw materials for manufacturing.

It is not clear whether this $150 million was an additional amount or was included in the $625 million purchase price.

The Cabinet statement added that this deal is a part of the government’s efforts to increase private investments in various sectors.

The Egyptian government had previously promised the International Monetary Fund that it would roll back the state’s involvement in the economy and allow private companies a much greater role as part of a $3 billion, 46-month financial support package, signed in December.

Wheat deal

Egypt’s state grains buyer bought about a half-a-million tons of Russian wheat in a private deal, four traders told Reuters, succeeding in negotiating lower prices than those offered in the more traditional tenders.

One of the world’s biggest importers of wheat, Egypt last year started shifting toward direct purchases instead of tenders after the war in Ukraine disrupted its buying.

The General Authority for Supply Commodities bought about 480,000 tons of Russian wheat from trading firm Solaris on Friday, at a price of about $270 a ton on a cost and freight basis, the traders said.

GASC was not immediately available for comment.

Traders have told Reuters the price could possibly be below an unofficial floor set by Russia’s government to control domestic wheat prices.

Other Russian wheat suppliers submitted offers on Friday at a free-on-board price of $265 per ton, believing it to be the set price floor, and a C&F price that exceeded $270 per ton.

Source:https://arab.news/8phj7