Egypt Summit to tackle Saudi Investors’ Woes

Officials at the Saudi-Egyptian Business Council have said Saudi investors face difficulties in Egypt which hinder them from transferring their money abroad. Other difficulties the Saudi investors face involve judicial judgments related to returning their money and compensating for them.

Commenting on the upcoming economic summit to be held in Sharm El-Sheikh from March 13 to 15, one of the council officials said: “The conference might not have a much divergent view on this issue because of the lack of clarity from the Egyptian side and the fate of their suspended investments.”

On the other hand, an Egyptian official said the obstacles hindering the transfer of the investors’ money to outside Egypt “may be overcome with further discussions with the Central Bank of Egypt.”

Fayez Zaqzouq, a member of the Saudi-Egyptian Business Council, said the Saudi businessmen have not ventured into new projects in Egypt in the recent past. “The funds that enter Egypt lately were invested only in the Egyptian Stock Market. Such investments are not deemed developmental projects,” he added.

The profits gained by Saudis in the stock market are still remain in Egypt because the authorities in that country have prevented investors from transferring any funds abroad, in the dollar currency in particular.

Zaqzouq noted that three types of lawsuits are being considered by the Egyptian judicial bodies. “There are 120 cases, which involve disputes between Saudi and Egyptian investors, 28 cases involve Saudi citizens who bought lands from the Egyptian government for real estate and agro projects, in addition to other lands to build entertainment and tourism villages through the General Authority for Investment and Free Zone. A committee consisting of the Justice and Defense Ministries were formed to resolve these disputed but so far the majority of the cases are not solved yet,” he pointed out.

Afifi Abdul Wahab, Egyptian ambassador in Riyadh, said the demand of the Saudi investors to transfer their money can be addressed by the Central Bank of Egypt.

Abdullah bin Mahfouz, deputy chairman of the Saudi-Egyptian Business Council said the volume of the official Saudi investments in Egypt exceeds $ 32 billion.

“The figure being circulated on the volume of investments represents the investments registered at the Ministry of Investment in Egypt,” he explained.

He added that the number of the Saudi industrial projects in the country stands at more than 3,200, while properties owned by Saudis amount to 62,000 properties. “There are large numbers of Saudis who own properties and commercial projects not registered at the ministry of investments,” he said.

Giving some details on the upcoming economic summit to be held in Sharm El-Sheikh from March 13 to 15, bin Mahfouz said: “As per the prior arrangements, the Egyptian sides were supposed to announce new projects and investment opportunities before the conference but all issues were delayed.”

Abdullah Dahlan, a member of the council said the Egyptian presidential visit to Saudi Arabia was meant to attract Gulf investors and capitals to further achieve the economic development of Egypt.

Dahlan said there are more than 50 investment projects being delayed or stuck up in Egypt, some of which involve giant funds and capitals.

“Although some of the problems and bottleneck projects were addressed and solved, many others which date back to 20 years ago still linger,” he added.

He said the Egyptian president promised to solve these problems.

“Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab also promised to shake and solve the investment bottlenecks,” he added.

Madawi Al-Hassoun, a member of the council, said the visit of the Egyptian president comes as part of the efforts to achieve the full integration of the Arab and Islamic economies.

“The visit will give incentives to the neighboring Gulf countries to follow the steps of Saudi Arabia in supporting Egypt as the country enjoys a strong economic drive in terms of the availability of lands for farming and the work force, in addition to the strong military that will ensure the stability of the country,” she said.

The Egyptian ambassador in Riyadh earlier confirmed that the Egyptian Ministry of Commerce managed to solve many of the issues, problems and disputes facing the Saudi investors in the country.

Source: Arab News