The government has completed the proposals of 28 projects with the help of private equity firms, to be presented in the March Economic Summit, Minister of Investment Ashraf Salman said Sunday during CI Capital's 5th Annual Conference. Salman added that the studies for 14 other projects are still being finalised, noting that the total number of projects of the summit is yet to be determined. The projects that will be presented are not the only governmental projects, but also include projects from the private sector, Salman said. Salman added that the government aims for the Economic Summit to promote its economic reform programme and to build the "appropriate" climate for investment. The summit will determine the government's economic plan for the next 10 years, he said. "This is the first time the government will showcase investment opportunities in a professional way," Salman said. Egypt's economic summit will be held in Sharm El-Sheikh from 13 to 15 March. There will be a focus on three main points leading up to the summit; the first of which is good summit organisation and consultations with international and local companies specialised in conference organisation. This also includes cooperation with all international institutions and partners, which is the first step on the reform roadmap. The second includes settling investment disputes and investigating the rights of the investor and the state. The third point entails reviewing all legislation through a higher committee. The most important aspect of this point is enacting laws that will attract investments, create more companies, combat corruption, bring the ‘one-stop shop' investment window into force, fight bureaucracy, and bring about administrative reforms and transparency. During the conference, Salman revealed that foreign direct investment (FDI) has recorded $3.3bn in quarter one (Q1) of the fiscal year (FY) 2014/2015, compared to FY 2013/2014 FDI levels, which were $4.3bn in total. The government aims to register $2.5bn in FDI in Q2 of the current fiscal year, and $10bn in total. The minister pointed out that upgrading Egypt's credit rating, one rank to "B" with a "stable" outlook from B-, by Fitch Ratings is deemed "very positive" as it happened for the first time since 1997, when Egypt joined the entity, according to him.
