CAIRO: Egypt's ICT investment volume is expected to reach $1.306 billion by 2011, according to British Business Monitor International's (BMI) and Forecast Series' last quarterly report for 2007. By 2011, the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) will be due to finalize the execution of the IT sector development plan, which aims to attract further foreign investments and boost exports. ICT investments, as referred to in the report, cover investment in PCs, broadband internet subscription, software industry and the service provision including Business Process Outsourcing (BPO). The report forecasts the ICT investments in general will reach $960 million by the end of this year. According to BMI, the Egyptian service provision, which includes BPO, will reach $278 million by the end of 2007 and develop into $379 million in 2011. The report also referred to Egypt s success in attracting a number of international companies recently. It also mentioned the massive development Egypt has been witnessing since 2006 in outsourcing industry, predicting it will gradually be the hub for the industry in the Middle East and North Africa by 2011. Based on the report, the ICT sector is to witness a 30 percent development rate between 2006 and 2011. The report highlighted the points of strength and the potentials Egypt has as a market likely to expand, on top of which is the government s support of the ICT sector and the initiatives launched by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology like those of the "PC for Every Home and the "Laptop for Every Professional. These initiatives and others have targeted an increase in the percentage of computer ownership, which will lead to a 271 percent raise in broadband internet subscription by 2011, said the report. As for the industrial sector as a whole, the report referred to the government plan to privatize public companies, which kicked off in 2005, as one of the strongest factors boosting the Egyptian industry.
