Egypt's new Minister of Investment, H.E. Yehia Hamed, conducted a meeting with Ahmed Heikal, Founder and Chairman of Citadel Capital (CCAP.CA), the leading investment company in Africa and the Middle East, on Monday May 21st during which they discussed several topics of importance including the firm's evolution into an investment company and its related capital increase. Potential solutions to the major hurdles impeding private sector investment in Egypt were also discussed during the meeting. The Minister vowed to address the most pressing issues quickly in order to pave the way for more private sector investment. Heikal came out of the meeting with a positive impression of the Minister's commitment to solve current challenges confronting serious private sector investors. In support of the government's renewed effort to address Egypt's economic challenges, Heikal assured Minister Hamed that after the conclusion of Citadel Capital's capital increase the firm will begin investing US$ 4 billion, distributed between debt and equity from Citadel Capital and its investment partners, in its existing projects, particularly in the energy sector. Among Citadel Capital's projects that will benefit from the capital increase is Mashreq, which has just signed a 25-year concession agreement to build and operate the first tank terminal and logistics hub of its kind on the Suez Canal in East Port Said. The project was given the green light last week in a ceremony attended by H.E. Prime Minister Hisham Kandil. Further investments are necessary in order to finance the execution of Mashreq as the project moves into the implementation phase. TAQA Arabia, Citadel Capital's full service energy distribution platform, will also benefit from investments to finance expansion plans that will allow the company to distribute natural gas to one million residential units and establish a 750 MW power plant to help offset the nationwide power shortages. Another benefactor of these new investments will be Citadel Capital's Dina Farms, Egypt's largest privately owned dairy farm which has plans to expand its arable land capacity by 2,500 acres, doubling the plots that are currently allocated for wheat production. In order to provide an additional 100,000 micro loans, Citadel Capital's microfinance company, Tanmeyah, will also receive an injection of funds after the conclusion of the capital increase.
