Chinese car maker SAIC Motor is studying setting up a factory for car manufacturing in Egypt, seeking to boost and develop Egypt's automotive industry, Trade Minister Tarek Kabil announced Sunday. This came during his meeting with a delegation from SAIC Motor, where they discussed the privileges and incentives in the new investment law to encourage automotive manufacturing in Egypt, instead of just assembly. On the other hand, Kabil said that the expected Chinese factory targets to meet local market needs and benefit from Egypt as a hub for exporting to neighboring Arab and African countries, with which Egypt signed free trade agreements. He added that the state aims to boost automotive manufacturing and put Egypt on the global map of this industry, in addition to boosting the country's car exports and expanding feeding industries. SAIC Motor Corporation Limited is a Chinese state-owned automotive design and manufacturing company headquartered in Shanghai, China, with multinational operations. Michael Yang, Executive Director of SAIC Motor's international department, said that the company's desire to invest in Egypt comes on the back of its conviction that the Egyptian market is one of the most important promising markets in the Middle East and Africa region. Yang added that SAIC Motor is the largest auto company in China, capturing 23.3 percent of car sales in the Chinese market. The company sold around 6.6 million cars in 2017. Yang further said that the negotiations are currently underway with one of the big Egyptian auto companies to distribute SAIC's products in Egypt.
