GB Auto considers $1.5 bln of Investments

Egypt’s biggest listed vehicle assembler and distributor, GB Auto, is considering investing $1.5 billion to build two new factories in the country in the next 3-4 years and plans to expand the firm’s operations to east Africa, its CEO said.

Raouf Ghabbour also predicted revenue of about $1.7 billion in 2014 and was upbeat about investing in Egypt because of what he called a “stable political situation”.

“Our investment decisions are going to be much easier going forward because at least politically we are in a better situation. We have big plans for investments going forward,” he told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday.

GB Auto is focused on automobile assembly, sales and distribution. It is the Egyptian distributor of three-wheeler tuk-tuks and motorbikes made by India’s Bajaj.

The company, Egypt’s sole dealer of Hyundai, MazdaBSE 0.58 % and Geely passenger cars, also operates in Iraq and Algeria.

Political turmoil has hammered Egypt’s economy since an uprising toppled Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has pledged to get the economy back on track and lure back investors by making the political and business climate more stable.

Source: Reuters