Abu Dhabi Development Holding to invest in four NIB companies: The Abu Dhabi Development Holding Company (ADDH) and unnamed Emirati investors have agreed to invest in four companies held by the National Investment Bank (NIB), bank CEO Mahmoud Montasser told Masrawy. The investors could buy stakes in the companies or purchase them outright, Montasser said, without disclosing the companies or the sectors they operate in. The four companies were among seven NIB-owned companies offered to Emirati investors last month by the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE), which was put in charge of attracting international and domestic interest in the NIB’s companies back in November.

Background: There has been a pick-up in trade and investment activity between Egypt and the UAE in recent months. The SFE signed a USD 20 bn agreement in November with ADDH to establish a joint investment fund, and in December a high-level delegation from the fund returned to Egypt for meetings with the SFE to discuss joint investment projects. The UAE International Investors Council Secretary-General Jamal Al-Jarwan said in December that the UAE aims to double its investments in Egypt to USD 14 bn over the next five years.