The CEO of AlexBank, a member of Intesa Sanpaolo Group, stated that the political and economic situation in Egypt is improving following the constitutional reform and the election of a new president. Roberto Vercelli added during the Economic Research Center for Southern Italy & the Med Area ( SRM) Conference on relations between Italy and the Mediterranean held in Naples recently, "that Egypt is one of the highest growth potential markets in the MENA region. He added that the new government has initiated a series of important projects on top of it, the expansion of the Suez Canal and has also started to review the subsidy policy which made petrol and electricity prices exceedingly low and weakened the prospects for investment in renewable energy." Vercelli also emphasized "that Italian entrepreneurs "must wake up" because Egypt holds "fantastic development opportunities" but on the Italian side "there is still too much mistrust and if they don't move fast, investors from other emerging markets such as Russia and China, who are already in the country will outplace us." AlexBank'S CEO further explained, "I've been in Egypt three years and a half and for the first time the bank is being contacted by Italian businessmen who want to understand how certain sectors are operating, in particular renewable energy and agri food." He added, "Last week I've met one of the biggest Italian solar-panel producing firms because they intend to invest over 50 million Euros in a solar power station close to Cairo". The SRM 2014 report included a study of the economic environment of the Egyptian market and the status of Italian companies operating in Egypt which now total almost 880 companies. Italian companies in Egypt deliver consistent values and are characterized by high economic performance. This in particular is due to the fact that among European countries, Italy ranked 3rd in terms of business presence in Egypt and is a key trade partner for Egypt.
