Egypt ranked ninth globally and first in Africa among the world's top investment destinations, attracting net inflows of $46.1bn in the 2023/2024 fiscal year, the head of the country's investment authority said on Tuesday. Speaking at the Egypt–Bahrain Business Forum, Hossam Heiba, CEO of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), highlighted the Egyptian market's attractive features, including a large labour force exceeding 32 million people, a strategic geographical location, competitive tax rates, robust infrastructure, and trade agreements with around 70 countries, enabling access to nearly 3 billion consumers worldwide. He added that GAFI's strategy is centred on providing services and incentives tailored to different business sectors, in line with the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade's strategic goal of raising export volumes to $140bn by 2030. Also speaking at the forum, Walid Gamal El-Din, Chairperson of the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE), said the zone has witnessed a major boom in investments in recent years. Over the past 38 months, agreements have been signed for 311 industrial, logistics, and service projects across its industrial zones and affiliated ports, with total investments amounting to around $10.2bn. Gamal El-Din said that since its establishment in 2015, the SCZONE has implemented a comprehensive phased plan, starting with building infrastructure, followed by enabling investment, and reaching the localisation phase, which focuses on targeted industries. The economic zone has successfully attracted investments from more than 20 countries, he said. The SCZONE has become a global industrial and logistics hub, supported by six seaports and four major industrial zones, Gamal El-Din noted. He disclosed that the authority targets 21 diverse industrial and service sectors, including pharmaceuticals, automotive manufacturing, textiles, and new and renewable energy industries. The authority provides a wide range of incentives and facilitations, including customs and tax exemptions, access to trained technical labour, and digital services through the one-stop-shop system, ensuring a competitive and sustainable business environment for investors. Heiba invited the Bahraini business community to explore the available investment opportunities in Egypt, either by reviewing the country's Investment Map, which includes around 1,200 opportunities, or through field visits to the free and investment zones managed by the Authority.
