Saudi Private Sector Prepares Comprehensive File on Challenges Facing Investors in Egypt

Saudi-Egyptian efforts to increase trade volume between the two countries (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi-Egyptian efforts to increase trade volume between the two countries (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Private Sector Prepares Comprehensive File on Challenges Facing Investors in Egypt

Saudi-Egyptian efforts to increase trade volume between the two countries (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi-Egyptian efforts to increase trade volume between the two countries (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Asharq Al-Awsat has learned that the Saudi private sector is currently preparing a comprehensive report on the challenges encountered by investors in Egypt. The objective is to overcome these obstacles through collaboration with relevant entities in Cairo.

Saudi Arabia and Egypt have established over 160 bilateral agreements that promote economic growth between the two nations. Trade volume between the countries reached a historic high of approximately SAR 54 billion ($14.4 billion) in 2021, reflecting an impressive growth rate of 87% compared to 2020.

As per information obtained by Asharq Al-Awsat, the Council of Saudi Chambers has urged all companies and institutions operating in the Kingdom to identify the hurdles faced by investors in Egypt.

This initiative is part of the final preparations for the inaugural Gulf-Egyptian Business Forum, set to take place in November. The event is under the auspices of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.

The new measures were implemented under the directives of the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Chambers of Commerce, which aim to overcome all the difficulties faced by Gulf companies in collaboration with relevant authorities in Egypt prior to the forum.

The Council of Saudi Chambers has set a deadline of July 20 to address all the challenges faced by investors, in order to take necessary actions and enhance the economic relations between the two countries.

Saudi exports to the Egyptian market reached approximately SAR 38.6 billion ($10.2 billion) in 2021, while Egyptian imports to the Saudi market amounted to SAR 15.7 billion ($4.1 billion), marking a record growth of 60%.

The Kingdom’s investments in Egypt have surpassed $32 billion, with more than 6,800 Saudi companies involved.

On the other hand, Egyptian investments in Saudi Arabia reached around $5 billion, with over 802 Egyptian companies operating in the Kingdom.



Report: US Ready to Reopen Oil Stockpile if Petrol Prices Surge Again

FILE PHOTO: A view of the Phillips 66 Company's Los Angeles Refinery (foreground), which processes domestic & imported crude oil into gasoline, aviation and diesel fuels, and storage tanks for refined petroleum products at the Kinder Morgan Carson Terminal (background), at sunset in Carson, California, US, March 11, 2022. REUTERS/Bing Guan/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view of the Phillips 66 Company's Los Angeles Refinery (foreground), which processes domestic & imported crude oil into gasoline, aviation and diesel fuels, and storage tanks for refined petroleum products at the Kinder Morgan Carson Terminal (background), at sunset in Carson, California, US, March 11, 2022. REUTERS/Bing Guan/File Photo
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Report: US Ready to Reopen Oil Stockpile if Petrol Prices Surge Again

FILE PHOTO: A view of the Phillips 66 Company's Los Angeles Refinery (foreground), which processes domestic & imported crude oil into gasoline, aviation and diesel fuels, and storage tanks for refined petroleum products at the Kinder Morgan Carson Terminal (background), at sunset in Carson, California, US, March 11, 2022. REUTERS/Bing Guan/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view of the Phillips 66 Company's Los Angeles Refinery (foreground), which processes domestic & imported crude oil into gasoline, aviation and diesel fuels, and storage tanks for refined petroleum products at the Kinder Morgan Carson Terminal (background), at sunset in Carson, California, US, March 11, 2022. REUTERS/Bing Guan/File Photo

The Biden administration is ready to release more oil from the US strategic stockpile to stop any jump in petrol prices this summer, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

Senior Biden adviser Amos Hochstein told the newspaper that oil prices are "still too high for many Americans” and he would like to see them “cut down a little bit further.”

Hochstein, speaking to the FT said that the US would "continue to purchase into next year, until we think that the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) has the volume that it needs again to serve its original purpose of energy security."

The Energy Department this year has been buying about 3 million barrels of oil per month for the SPR after selling 180 million barrels in 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The move was an effort to curb gasoline prices that spiked to more than $5.00 a gallon, but it also reduced the reserve to its lowest level in 40 years.

Earlier this month, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told Reuters that the US could hasten the rate of replenishing the SPR as maintenance on the stockpile is completed by the end of the year.