Egyptian business delegation here to explore opportunities with Singapore companies
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Egyptian Minister of Investment addresses businesses. |
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SBF signs MOU with General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) Egypt. |
Singapore, Thursday, 14 August 2008 - The Singapore Business Federation (SBF) today organised a seminar on the Investment Climate and Business Opportunities in Egypt, in conjunction with the visit of the Minister of Investment of the Arab Republic of Egypt, H. E. Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin and his 35-strong delegation.
The accompanying delegation comprised 22 high-level government officials from various economic agencies, including the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) and COMESA (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa). The delegation also included 13 prominent heads of Egyptian companies.
The seminar, graced by H. E. Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, H.E. Mohamed Elzorkany, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to Singapore and Mr. Zainul Abidin Rasheed, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore, was attended by some 100 businessmen from diversified industries representing the engineering, food and beverage and info-technology sectors.
Participants were provided with a comprehensive overview of the latest economic developments, emerging industries and market dynamics in Egypt. Speakers from the Egyptian delegation and Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) Group – a Singapore company which has successfully ventured into Egypt, provided expert advice on key concerns and issues pertaining to the business environment in Egypt. The business networking lunch that followed provided a platform for businessmen from both communities to meet, establish useful contacts and explore potential business opportunities.
“The NOL Group has enjoyed almost two decades of growth in Egypt. The country’s strategic geographic position, business-friendly environment and infrastructure development plans have created an environment for us to expand our presence. We look forward to helping our customers embrace the many business opportunities this exciting country has to offer,” said Jim McAdam, President Asia-Middle East, NOL Group.
Singapore – Egypt business and economic relations were given a boost with the signing today of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between SBF and the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) Egypt. The MOU will drive information and business exchanges between SBF and GAFI, aimed at promoting bilateral trade and investments between Singapore and Egypt.
SBF, as the apex business chamber, has been proactively assisting Singapore companies to venture overseas to seek opportunities in new and promising markets. The emerging markets in the Middle East have been a key focus of SBF. In the first half of 2008, SBF organised 3 well-received seminars/roundtable sessions (which countries?) and led 2 business missions to the Middle East region covering Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Libya.
Mr Teng Theng Dar, Chief Executive Officer, SBF remarked that Singapore Business Federation’s engagement efforts with Egypt have so far garnered encouraging response. “We now see Singapore businesses actively pursuing opportunities in construction and real estate, oil and gas supporting infrastructure, environmental engineering, transport and logistics, financial services and the info-comm technology sectors in Egypt. General trading and investment opportunities abound as well”, he said “With Egypt aggressively embarking on plans to develop key sectors like ICT, logistics, infrastructure and tourism, Singapore is well poised to extend its partnership in the development of the services industry besides trade”, he added.
Singapore Business Federation remains committed to playing a pivotal role in facilitating Singapore companies’ market development efforts into the emerging Middle East region. More business-to-business exchanges will be organized by the Singapore Business Federation to drive further collaboration between business communities in Singapore and the Middle East.
About Singapore Business Federation
As the apex business chamber, the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) champions the interests of the business community in Singapore, in trade, investment and industrial relations. Nationally, SBF acts as the bridge between the government and businesses in Singapore to create a conducive business environment. Internationally, SBF represents the business community in bilateral, regional and multilateral fora for the purpose of trade expansion and business networking. For more information, please visit our website: www.sbf.org.sg
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ANNEX 1
Supplementary Information:
SBF's activities on Egypt
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Egypt Singapore Business Forum (21 Apr 2005) |
| 2 |
SBF Business Mission to Egypt (25 Feb – 3 Mar 2006) |
| 3 |
Global Enterpolis Singapore: Middle East – Asia Business Exchange - Egypt Business Conference (31 Oct 2006) |
| 4 |
SBF Business Mission to Egypt and Jordan (14 Nov - 22 Nov 2006) |
| 5 |
Dialogue Session with H.E Fayza Aboulnaga, Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation (5 Arp 2007) |
| 6 |
GES – MENA Seminar: Focus on Egypt (14 Nov 2007) |
| 7 |
Dialogue Session with Chairman of Egypt’s General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (15 Jan 2008) |
Singapore companies in Egypt
The following are some of the Singaporean companies with successful business ventures in Egypt:
Sembcorp Marine
Sembcorp Marine’s unit, PPL Shipyard won a contract to build a $220 million jack-up rig for the Egyptian Drilling Company in July 2008.
This is the second rig that PPL is building for the oil firma and is a joint venture between the Egyptian General Petroleum Corp and Denmark's AP Moeller Maersk. The rig is scheduled for delivery in mid-2010, while the first rig which is still under construction, is due for delivery in December 2009.
Charles & Keith
Charles & Keith is an upscale ladies fashion retailer specialising in leather shoes, bags and accessories.
They started their first outlet in Egypt in 2005 and currently have 8 stores in Egypt. They plan open up to 20 stores within the next five years.
Bilateral Trade
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Egypt was Singapore's 63rd trading partner in 2007 with a total trade of S$597.40 million. |
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Exports to Egypt increased from $463 million in 2006 to $497 million in 2007, slightly over 7.40%. This represented close to 83% of the total trade in 2007. |
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Imports from Egypt decreased from $133 million in 2006 to $100 million in 2007 representing approximately 25% decrease over 2006. |
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Total trade in 2007 amounted to $597 million, a slight increase of 0.1% from 2006 ($596 million). |
Singapore's Trade with Egypt (Value in S$ Thousand)
| Trade |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
| Total Trade |
730,993 |
596,805 |
597,432 |
| Total Imports |
477,618 |
133,585 |
100,073 |
| Total Exports |
253,375 |
463,220 |
497,359 |