HSBC announced Sunday the launch of its second international growth fund in Egypt worth 300 million Egyptian pounds (US$39.3 million) for "Egypt's international and internationally aspirant" small and medium enterprises (SMEs). "The Fund is open to new and existing importing and exporting customers in Egypt with cross border trading requirements or those that aspire to grow internationally," the bank said in an official statement. In 2014, HSBC launched its first growth fund with the same amount of money. The fund's money was mainly allocated to businesses in the pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, electronics, chemicals and textiles sectors. Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jacques-Emmanuel Blanchet highlighted that importance of SMEs. He said they are "critical to the future of Egypt's economy and at HSBC we are committed to Egypt and the businesses that support the ongoing growth and modernisation of the country's economy". "We believe that international and internationally aspirant SMEs will truly benefit from the International Growth Fund and look forward to speaking to both new and existing customers in the coming days on how best we can support the continued growth of their business," Blanchet added. In a report issued last year, the bank said that Egyptian economy is expected to pick up influenced by real export growth. In November, the Head of Commercial Banking, Mona El-Sayed, said that HSBC Group believes in the long-term future of Egypt. El-Sayed added that the bank remains committed to investing in the growth of its business in the country.
