US companies are keen to increase investments in Egypt, Investment and International Cooperation Minister Sahar Nasr said. According to a ministry statement released on Thursday, Nasr met several representatives from US companies, including conglomerate General Electric, Johnson, food provider Cargill, pharmaceutical company Merck & Co, oil and gas giant ExxonMobil, and food manufacturing company Kellogg's. Nasr also met with representatives from JPMorgan Chase and MasterCard. According to the statement, the representatives "showed a wish to increase investments to Egypt in the coming period." "Cargill's regional director in Egypt, Melvin Minke, said that his company's investments in Egypt have reached $200 million, with the company planning to add an extra $150 million in investments in the future," the statement added. Others have praised the investment atmosphere in the country. Merck & Co's Noha Selim has praised investment opportunities, expressing her hope for boosting cooperation between Cairo and the company in the pharmaceutical sector, according to the ministry statement. Egypt's net foreign direct investment (FDI) rose by 14.5 percent to $7.9 billion in the 2016-2017 fiscal year that ended on 30 June, the central bank said on Tuesday. There was a “$2.3 billion rise in net inflows for oil sector investments to $4 billion,” the bank said in a statement.
