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Investment in Egypt |
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Egypt has entered a new era of opportunity. Political,
economic and social reforms have brightened up the economic climate,
encouraging private enterprise and a surge of new investment, increasingly from
abroad. It's business sectors have risen to the challenge. Egypt's steps toward
a more market- oriented economy have increased foreign investment and enhanced
macro-economic indicators. Egypt topped the list of reformers in the region and
worldwide according to the World Bank and IFC's "Doing Business 2008"
Annual Report. The report ranks 178 countries on the basis of how friendly
their policies are towards investors based on 10 indicators. This improvement
was largely due to comprehensive reforms in the fields of starting a business,
property registration, trading across borders and dealing with licenses and
getting credit.
Economic growth in Egypt went up to 7.1 percent, recoding the highest level
over two decades, stated the annual report of the Institute of International
Finance.
This steady growth is based on wide-scale structural reforms implemented by the
Egyptian government during the recent years, the report said. These reforms
were accompanied by a remarkable increase in total investments implemented and
a growth in major economic sectors. This high growth rate will be maintained
during the coming two years, the IIF report expected.
These procedures led to an increase in net FDI inflows from 0.5 percent of GDP
in 2004/04 to 8.2 percent in 2006/07. The liberalization of trade, promotion of
exports, modernization and surge in FDI as well as institutional reform, were
key areas for enhancing Egypt's competitiveness. FDI into Egypt has increased
considerably in the past few years due to the recent economic liberalization
measures taken, rising from $3.9 billion in 2004/2005 to $11.1 billion in
2006/2007.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) World
Investment Report 2007 ranked Egypt as first among African countries, and
second among its Arab peers, in attracting FDI. |
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