عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

French Companies to Inject New Investments in Egyptian Market

Hossam Heiba, Chairman of the Investment Authority and Free Zones, signs a memorandum of understanding with the French Investment Promotion Agency in the presence of Hassan Al-Khatib, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade. (Egyptian Investment Authority)
Hossam Heiba, Chairman of the Investment Authority and Free Zones, signs a memorandum of understanding with the French Investment Promotion Agency in the presence of Hassan Al-Khatib, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade. (Egyptian Investment Authority)
TT
TT

French Companies to Inject New Investments in Egyptian Market

Hossam Heiba, Chairman of the Investment Authority and Free Zones, signs a memorandum of understanding with the French Investment Promotion Agency in the presence of Hassan Al-Khatib, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade. (Egyptian Investment Authority)
Hossam Heiba, Chairman of the Investment Authority and Free Zones, signs a memorandum of understanding with the French Investment Promotion Agency in the presence of Hassan Al-Khatib, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade. (Egyptian Investment Authority)

Several French companies have committed to making new investments in the Egyptian market across various sectors, including transportation, food, and pharmaceuticals.

According to a statement by Egypt’s General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) on Saturday, companies such as Lesaffre (in yeast production), Alstom (transport), Sanofi (pharmaceuticals), and Decathlon (specialized retail in sportswear and equipment) have pledged to invest further in Egypt. These plans aim to leverage the significant improvements in the country’s investment infrastructure and legislative framework.

French investments in Egypt currently stand at approximately €7 billion (around $7.7 billion), distributed across 180 companies in various sectors. The companies’ commitment to expansion was made during a promotional visit to France by GAFI CEO Hossam Heiba, accompanied by Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Hassan Al-Khatib.

The visit included participation in the Egyptian-French Business Forum held in Paris and Marseille, with the attendance of French Minister of Foreign Trade Sophie Primas and more than 350 French companies.

The Egyptian officials also held meetings with John Cockerill, a leader in hydrogen production equipment, representatives of bpi France, a French investment bank and the chairman of CMA CGM, a French logistics and maritime company and a key development partner of Egypt.

Heiba noted that Egypt has successfully attracted a significant number of global and French companies, benefiting from its strategic position as an investment and export hub for Africa. He emphasized that his country has maintained its position as the top African destination for investments in 2022 and 2023, with expectations of continuing this trend in the coming years. This is further supported by the record-breaking foreign direct investment, which reached $46.1 billion in the 2023-2024 fiscal year.

Additionally, Heiba signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the French Investment Promotion Agency, which aims to sustain investment cooperation between Egypt and France, focusing on providing investor support, fostering partnerships between the two countries' business communities, and sharing data on target sectors and legislative developments. The agreement also covers the organization of investment promotion events and exploratory business tours.

The French side highlighted the substantial investments made by French companies in Egypt, particularly in telecommunications, healthcare, and cosmetics. Companies such as Valeo, Capgemini, Atos, and Orange Business Services operate in Egypt’s IT and communications sector, while Servier, AXA, AXA One Health, Sanofi, and Air Liquide have made significant contributions to the healthcare sector. L'Oréal is also a major player in the cosmetics industry.

This promotional visit is part of Egypt’s efforts aimed at expanding investment ties with Europe, following the 2024 Egypt-European Investment Conference held in Cairo in June, and the March 2023 announcement of an enhanced strategic partnership between Egypt and the European Union.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

WTO Reform Talks Face US-Indian Obstacles

Delegates applaud during the opening of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) 14th ministerial meeting in Yaounde, Cameroon, on 26th March, 2026.  (WTO/Handout via Reuters)
Delegates applaud during the opening of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) 14th ministerial meeting in Yaounde, Cameroon, on 26th March, 2026.  (WTO/Handout via Reuters)
TT
TT

WTO Reform Talks Face US-Indian Obstacles

Delegates applaud during the opening of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) 14th ministerial meeting in Yaounde, Cameroon, on 26th March, 2026.  (WTO/Handout via Reuters)
Delegates applaud during the opening of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) 14th ministerial meeting in Yaounde, Cameroon, on 26th March, 2026.  (WTO/Handout via Reuters)

Large differences remain between most countries and the US and India as trade ministers meet to discuss reforms at the World Trade Organization, two diplomats told Reuters on Friday.

The ministers are meeting in Yaounde, Cameroon, as the organization faces a critical test to its future amid a year of tariff-fueled trade turmoil and major disruption to shipping, energy prices and supply chains due to the Middle East conflict.

“There is a real commitment among ministers to reach an agreement on reforms, but there is a big elephant in the room blocking: India and the US,” a senior diplomat told Reuters.

Another diplomat from an African country said India so far has not shown signs of a change in position. Some flexibility, however, might be possible, the person added. The diplomats declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the negotiations.

While the US and India acknowledge the need to reform the global trading system, they have resisted proposals of a substantive workplan on reforms.

“Unfortunately on reform I don't see much room for maneuver between ⁠the US and India's positions,” said the senior diplomat.

India has also opposed an agreement to aid investment into developing countries and the US desire to permanently extend an e-commerce moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions like digital downloads, which expires this month.

“The US, China, EU and UK positions are reasonable, but there is one party that we need to see compromise from to make progress - India,” said Chris Southworth, the Secretary General of the UK International Chamber of Commerce.

“I think frustration among members will start to spillover here in Yaounde if we see no progress,” he added.

India’s Position

India's Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal has cast doubt on US efforts to extend the e-commerce moratorium, saying it warranted a “careful reconsideration.” India is concerned about a loss of tariff revenue.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Thursday Washington ⁠was not interested in a temporary extension to the ban, only a permanent one.

Goyal has also challenged moves by the EU, US, Canada and others for a subset of members to take decisions plurilaterally, saying any outcome should be agreed by consensus.

That has cast a shadow over whether an Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement to encourage foreign direct investment in developing and least-developed countries can be incorporated into the WTO rule book in Yaounde.

Türkiye on Thursday lifted its opposition to it.

Goyal's position showed India wants to protect the WTO's core architecture, said Ajay Srivastava, founder of think ⁠tank Global Trade Research Initiative and a former Indian negotiator.

“Together, these risk turning the WTO from a rules-based body into one driven by power and selective coalitions,” he said.

There is also deadlock over one of New Delhi's key priorities: a permanent solution on public stock holding to allow developing countries to give subsidies to rice and wheat farmers through a price support mechanism.

Big agricultural exporters ⁠like the US, EU and Australia fear it would let countries like India build large stocks of foodstuffs and dispose surpluses, potentially distorting trade.

Randa Sengupta, a senior researcher at think tank, the Third World Network, said PSH was important for supporting farmers and enabling food security for poorer communities in India.

‘Constructive’ Talks

Still, a concrete reform workplan was within ⁠reach, Norway's Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide told Reuters.

“People are beginning to engage in the real questions,” he said, pointing to talks on the WTO's Most Favored Nation principle to treat states equally, while allowing exceptions to national security.

Similarly, Britain's Business Secretary Peter Kyle said a text on reforms was emerging and that constructive talks were taking place to ensure broad agreement.

Caption: Delegates applaud during the opening of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) 14th ministerial meeting in Yaounde, Cameroon, on 26th March, 2026. (WTO/Handout via Reuters)

Business

European Central Bank Member: No Rush to Hike Interest Rates

A view shows the logo of the European Central Bank outside its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany (Reuters)
A view shows the logo of the European Central Bank outside its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany (Reuters)
TT
TT

European Central Bank Member: No Rush to Hike Interest Rates

A view shows the logo of the European Central Bank outside its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany (Reuters)
A view shows the logo of the European Central Bank outside its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany (Reuters)

The European Central Bank should not rush to raise rates in response to surging energy costs, as its “baseline” outlook remains intact and there is no sign yet that inflation is becoming entrenched, Cypriot central bank chief Christodoulos Patsalides said.

With energy prices surging on the US-Israeli war with Iran, euro zone inflation is set to breach the ECB's 2% target as early as this month, prompting policymakers to debate whether to raise interest rates to head off second-round effects.

Patsalides, who sits on the ECB's rate-setting Governing Council, said he would not hesitate to raise rates if he saw evidence that inflation was getting entrenched in the 21-nation bloc, but ⁠added there was no such evidence yet, according to Reuters.

“We don't have sufficient information to make a decision as to whether this should be looked through or whether we should be making a decision on interest rates,” Patsalides said in an interview. “I would not rush into any decision.”

“I think we are still along the baseline,” Patsalides argued. “Only two weeks have passed since the cutoff date of the projections, and we haven’t seen anything that points to a change in either the duration or the intensity of the war.”

Markets now price in three ECB rate hikes this year, starting as ⁠early as April or June, but expectations are volatile and prone to sharp shifts as the war evolves.

Patsalides did not rule out an April move, arguing that the ECB can change rates at any meeting, but said this would require evidence that higher headline inflation is feeding into core prices rather than proving a one-off.

“I prefer to be more cautious,” he said. “Wisdom comes with more information. Wisdom is ⁠a function of necessary information. If you don't have the information, then what you have is gut feeling. And you shouldn't be making decisions on the basis of gut feeling.”

He added that longer-term inflation expectations, a key metric for the ECB in judging the duration of ⁠a shock, are anchored around the bank's 2% target.

Still, he acknowledged the risks are skewed towards higher inflation, warning that the lingering “memory effect” of the 2021-22 shock could lead households and firms to adjust price and wage expectations more quickly than ⁠in the past.

But he said that conditions are materially different now, with higher rates, a cooler labour market, tighter fiscal policy and limited pent-up demand.

The ECB's next policy meeting is on April 30 where there bank is likely to receive updated scenario analysis on its projections.

In a related development, a European Central Bank survey showed on Friday that Euro zone consumers were reducing their inflation expectations in the run-up to the US-Israeli war on Iran, before a surge in energy prices fundamentally changed the outlook.

Median expectations for inflation over the next 12 months and three years ahead both declined to 2.5% from 2.6% last month, while inflation expectations for five years ahead remained unchanged at 2.3%, the ECB's Consumer Expectations Survey showed.

However, 97% of the survey responses were collected before the war broke out on February 28, the ECB added.

The ECB has since then sharply raised its inflation projections on surging energy costs, and a raft of surveys now indicate souring consumer expectations and surging prices.

The ECB sees inflation peaking above 3% under its most benign scenario while its adverse and severe scenarios see sharply higher and longer price surges.

Business

Egypt Imposes Business Curfew to Counter Soaring Fuel Costs

Cairo was forced to raise fuel prices by more than 30 percent, after strikes on regional oil infrastructure and threats against the Strait of Hormuz (File Photo)
Cairo was forced to raise fuel prices by more than 30 percent, after strikes on regional oil infrastructure and threats against the Strait of Hormuz (File Photo)
TT
TT

Egypt Imposes Business Curfew to Counter Soaring Fuel Costs

Cairo was forced to raise fuel prices by more than 30 percent, after strikes on regional oil infrastructure and threats against the Strait of Hormuz (File Photo)
Cairo was forced to raise fuel prices by more than 30 percent, after strikes on regional oil infrastructure and threats against the Strait of Hormuz (File Photo)

Egypt has ordered shops, restaurants and shopping malls to close from 9:00 pm from Saturday, hoping to curb energy bills that have more than doubled because of the Iran war.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced the curfew and said it would last for a month initially.

"Shops, shopping centers, restaurants and cafes will all close at 9:00 pm on weekdays," he said, adding that on Thursdays and Fridays at the weekend they will be allowed to stay open until 10:00 pm, Reuters reported.

The premier said that before the war, Egypt's monthly energy bill was $560 million. Today, for the same quantity, he said Egypt is paying $1.650 billion.

Madbouly said Cairo must work on the "worst-case scenario" in the face of a war whose outcome is unpredictable.

Tourism Minister Sherif Fathy said the new restrictions "will not affect tourists" or flagship destinations, a statement from his office said.

At the beginning of March, Cairo was forced to raise fuel prices by more than 30 percent, after strikes on regional oil infrastructure and threats against the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial shipping route now virtually paralysed by the war.

Around a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas passes through the waterway in peacetime.

The rerouting of shipping away from the Suez Canal is also depriving Cairo of a vital source of foreign currency.