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20% expected increase in French investments in Egypt next 12 months: CFEA President 12 French companies visit Egypt to discuss cooperation opportunities for investment in sugar industry, says Business France Country Director
French investments in Egypt amounted to €3bn and are expected to increase by 20% during the next 12 months to a total of €3.6bn, according to President of the Conseil Franco-Egyptien Des Affaires (CFEA) Fouad Younes. The recent attacks in Paris on Friday will not significantly affect the existing French investments in Egypt but may slow the flow of new investments in the upcoming period, Younes told Daily News Egypt. The attacks would have a temporary effect on French investments in Egypt, unlike the Russian plane crash, since the investigations proved that the crash was caused by terrorist acts. Younes said French companies are expanding in new and renewable energy projects in Egypt, noting that French companies also have the largest share of tourism investments in Egypt. The decline in performance of the tourism sector in Egypt will not affect the performance of French companies in Egypt, he said, noting that there are 17 hotels in Egypt owned and managed by French companies. Country Director of Business France in Egypt Ludovic Prevost said 12 French companies, specialised in equipment for the sugar industry and services, will visit Egypt for four days to discuss cooperation opportunities for investment with the public and private sectors in the sugar industry in Egypt. During Franco-Egyptian meetings in the sugar industry Tuesday, Prevost said Business France aims to develop the French companies' investments at the international level through the establishment of effective economic relations between France and the concerned local agencies. Prevost added that 12 French companies visit Egypt to discuss cooperation opportunities for investment in sugar industry. He said several French companies' delegations will visit in the upcoming period in various sectors of Egypt to promote economic cooperation between both countries. President of Sugar Crops Council Abdel Wahab Allam said the annual consumption of table sugar in Egypt is 3m tonnes. Allam told Daily News the French company offered its expertise with respect to providing the latest technology to reduce the cost of production in the Egyptian sugar factories, as well as providing technology to reduce the cost of sugar beet agriculture in Egypt. He said France succeeded in reducing the quantities of fertilisers used in the cultivation of sugar beet by 50%, reduced energy consumption by 44%, and increased production by 40% per acre. "We have 80% self-sufficiency for sugar by and Egypt produces 1.3m tonnes of sugar from sugar beets per year and 1.1m tonnes from sugar cane, which is grown in Qena, Aswan, Luxor, Minya, and Sohag," Allam said. "There is a gap between production and consumption in Egypt annually, at about 600,000 tonnes," said Allam. "We have sufficient sugar production in Egypt until April 2017." There is great opportunity for cooperation between CODETEC, a consortium of French companies, suppliers of equipment and services for the sugar industry, and Egyptian companies specialised in the sugar industry in the upcoming period, CODETEC president Antoine Meriot said during the seminar. There is a possibility of partnerships between Egyptian and French companies in this field to take advantage of French experience to increase economic cooperation between both countries, she said. The volume of sugar production in France amounted 4m to 5m tonnes annually and there are indications of increasing production during this season until the end of December.
