Participants at the French Investments in Egypt Conference, organised by Al-Ahram Weekly's sister publication Al-Ahram Hebdo in partnership with the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the French embassy in Cairo, highlighted this week Egypt's potential as an investment destination. At the conference, held at the Al-Ahram building in Cairo, former prime minister and presidential aide for national and strategic projects Ibrahim Mehleb said that Egypt's strategic location and abundance of skilled labour put the country in a good position to attract French investment. He added that Egypt was following an ambitious strategy that focussed on establishing major projects as well as encouraging investment. The recent decision to float the Egyptian pound would also help attract foreign investors, Mehleb said. “Although there is still bureaucracy that hinders investment, steps have been taken to eliminate this,” Mehleb said at the conference. He also encouraged French tourists to visit Egypt and enjoy its beautiful beaches and weather. Jérôme Baconin, economic adviser to the French embassy in Egypt, described the recent decisions taken by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) as an “economic revolution,” adding that France supported Egypt's bid for a $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and that it had faith in Egypt's future potential. “Egypt is not like any other country in the world. It's a country with more than 5,000 years of civilisation behind it,” Baconin said. French investment in Egypt stands at 3.5 billion Euros, with the annual average amounting to 289 million Euros in the past five years, said Fouad Younis, head of the Egyptian-French Business Council. Younis said that French investments in Egypt could benefit from the variety of fields in which French companies are involved, including renewable energy, telecommunications, tourism, infrastructure, building materials, home appliances and electric supplies, among others. He said that there were 160 French companies operating in Egypt and employing 30,000 people. The council was working on attracting further French investors, especially to the Suez Canal area, he said. Egypt has embarked on an ambitious plan to develop the Suez Canal area that will include maritime and port activities. A host of French companies were present at the conference, showcasing success stories in Egypt. The companies included Schneider Electric, Lafarge, Orange, Crédit Agricole, Axa Insurance, Sanofi, Gras Savoye, Saint Gobain and Poma. The French development agency the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the business organisation Business France were also represented. CEO of Orange Egypt Jean-Marc Harion said his company had been operating in Egypt for 18 years and that it had recently injected $2 billion in investment to operate 4G telecommunications networks. Though he praised Egypt's investment opportunities and potential, he said that the repatriation of profits remained a challenge for foreign companies. Foreign investors have been facing difficulties recently in repatriating their earnings as a result of the foreign currency crisis that has gripped the country. Egyptian exports to France are worth around 900 million Euros, while French exports to Egypt are worth 1.4 billion Euros, making France the sixth biggest exporter to Egypt.
