Spotlight on: AmCham’s Tuesday investment conference

We attended AmCham’s “New Investment Horizon Conference” yesterday, where we learned that President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s upcoming visit to Washington will include a trade delegation and business discussions. Other highlights from keynote speeches and presentations:

Investment and International Cooperation Minister Sahar Nasr:

• Consistent with her remarks earlier this month at the EFG Hermes One on One, Nasr encouraged the business community to reach out to her at the earliest sign they may run into problems on a significant issue. They key is to ask for help before something escalates to the level of a dispute resolution committee.
• The minister is pushing for region-specific investment incentives to drive investment in Upper Egypt, particularly in more labor-intensive sectors.
• The government is studying locations for new free zones, including in the New Administrative Capital.
• Foreign funding the international cooperation arm of her ministry is now arranging will be deployed to repay arrears, especially in the energy sector.

Deputy Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk:

• The next phase of reforms will all be about supporting competitiveness, with a focus on trade, exporters, and manufacturers.
• Also on the agenda: Shoring up the social safety net with more spending.
• “Intended outcomes are starting to kick in,” Kouchouk said, pointing to data showing improvements in foreign currency cash flows to Egypt and stronger trade figures.
• Early export figures for January-February 2017 show an increase by 20% y-o-y, he says.
• Kouchouk confirmed the 2017-18 budget will be submitted to the House by Thursday and that an IMF delegation will visit end of April or early May prior to the disbursement of the second tranche of the loan.

GAFI Chairman Mohamed Khodeir:

• One key reform we took note of in Khodeir’s remarks: the Investment Act will treat any license requests as issued and approved if it takes GAFI longer than 60 days to respond to them.

• The Act comes with a temporary incentives program targeted for designated sectors, namely industry, electricity, and infrastructure sectors, in specific zones

• The one-stop shop policy is a main focus of the Investment Act. “It does not mean GAFI makes all the decisions, but that the investor only deals with GAFI to apply for regulatory licenses,” Khodeir said.

• New regulations will facilitate land allocation.

Separately, CI Capital’s head of investment banking Hesham Gohar told Al Mal that the market is ready for IPOs of state companies, noting that it takes anywhere between nine months and one year to prepare any company for an IPO.