INVESTMENT WATCH- Matalan, GSK agree to invest GBP 30 mn in Egypt at UK-Africa Investment Summit: UK fashion retailer Matalan will invest GBP 25 mn over the next five years building 20 outlets in Egypt, the British embassy in Cairo and a spokesperson for the UK government announced on social media yesterday. GlaxoSmithKline will also invest GBP 5 mn to develop two of its Egyptian production lines, the embassy said without providing further information. The two agreements came during the UK-Africa Investment Summit held in London on Monday, during which British companies signed GBP 6.5 bn in trade agreements with African countries.

The latest announcements come a day after UK-based PE outfit Actis signed an agreement with the Egyptian government that will see it invest alongside the Sovereign Fund of Egypt in energy and infrastructure projects. The pact could funnel some GBP 3 bn worth of investment in infrastructure, health and education over the next three years. The UK government’s development finance arm, CDC Group, also extended a USD 100 mn loan to CIB.

Other news from the summit: Planning Minister Hala El Said reiterated that a decision on whether to agree on a non-financial loan program with the IMF will be made “soon,” Bloomberg reports. “Now is the time for the private sector” she said on the sidelines of the summit. Finance Minister Mohamed Maait has suggested that the government could sign up to a new post-loan program with the fund in March.

El Sisi talks investment with Johnson: The UK prime minister told President Abdel Fattah El Sisi that he was counting on Egypt to be the “center of gravity” for stability in the region during talks at 10 Downing Street, according to an Ittihadiya statement. The two sides discussed Egypt’s infrastructure projects and the current investment climate, as well as tackling terrorism and illegal migration, and the crisis in Libya.