A US business mission arrived in Egypt on Tuesday to mull over investment opportunities in the country. The mission is part of regular US trade missions to Egypt that take place once every two years. The mission, accompanied by acting US Deputy Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade Sarah Kemp, consists of representatives of 44 US companies operating in various fields, including the pharmaceuticals, oil and gas and information and communication technology (ICT) sectors. Some of the companies are already operating in Egypt, while others are new to the Egyptian market. During their three-day visit, mission members have met with President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi and a handful of Egyptian ministers. The mission has been organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt (AmCham Egypt) in conjunction with the US Chamber's US-Egypt Business Council and the Egypt-US Business Council. “The improvement in Egypt's investment climate is what has encouraged such missions to come to the country,” Omar Mohanna, chairman of the Egypt-US Business Council, said during a press conference in Cairo. Tarek Tawfik, chairman of AmCham Egypt, said that Egypt's economic indicators showed it was moving in the right direction. The country had achieved a remarkable 5.3 per cent growth rate, and the budget deficit and unemployment were edging down, he said. He added that the recent period had seen economic and social stability, saying that in the US Egypt was looked upon as the “most stable” country in the region. Tawfik said that several US companies had expanded in Egypt over the last year. Egypt's current economic reform programme had also sent a message to investors that the country is stable, Mohanna said, adding that popular conviction that the economic reforms were designed to improve welfare had helped prevent unrest. However, bureaucracy and red tape remained challenges to investment in Egypt, Mohanna said, adding that administrative reforms were needed since obstacles to investment were affecting the ease of doing business. Things had improved tremendously compared to the situation two years ago, however, he said. Delays in incoming investment could be attributed to the fact that investors were in a wait-and-see mode after Egypt's “aggressive” reforms, Tawfik said. He said that other countries that had implemented less aggressive types of reforms had faced political and social unrest. Some anticipation was therefore normal after the moves made in Egypt over the last couple of years. “Investors want to see how far the government will be able to go,” Tawfik told Al-Ahram Weekly. He added that the global emerging markets crisis accompanied by the trade war between China and the US had exacerbated the situation, affecting the attractiveness of emerging markets as investment venues. Consequently, Egypt had to take extra steps to reform, Tawfik said. “As much as we've done, we still need to do more, and that's a very inviting message to investors that we are still going on, always digging deeper,” he added. Mohanna said that major and bold measures had been taken, but other types of reform also needed to be implemented, including fighting bureaucracy. Current US investment in Egypt was dominated by oil and gas, as this sector is one of the most promising prospects in the country, he said. Other sectors in which US companies operate include pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, agro-industry and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs). US direct investment in Egypt stood at $22.2 billion in 2016, representing 38.6 per cent of US direct investment in Africa, according to the most recent data from the US Department of Commerce. In 2016, Egypt was the largest recipient of US direct investment in Africa, and second in the Middle East after the United Arab Emirates. During the first three quarters of 2017, US companies operating in Egypt recorded a cumulative income of $376 million. According to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), the US was the third-largest foreign direct investor in Egypt during the fiscal year 2016/2017. The US invested $1.8 billion, 9.2 per cent of all the investment in the country and more than double the previous year. The US is one of Egypt's largest trade partners, with a trade volume of $5.6 billion in 2017, ranking it sixth in the Middle East and first in Africa. Egypt's exports represent 2.3 per cent of regional exports to the US, while imports make up 5.5 per cent of those from the US.
