1- Macroeconomic Stability and Robust Growth: Egypt’s GDP has witnessed constant growth over the last few years, reaching 4.7 percent in 2009 – despite the difficult international economic conditions caused by the global financial crisis.
2- Diversified Economy: Egypt’s economy is among the most diverse in the Middle East and North Africa. Industry accounts for 32 percent of GDP and services 54 percent, while agriculture accounts for 14 percent. The manufacturing sector today is home to a rapidly growing number of companies in fields including chemicals, food processing, spinning and weaving, ready-made garments, construction materials, engineering and ICT, a field in which the advances of Egypt have been hailed by many.
3- Large Consumer Market: The sheer size of Egypt’s population (almost 80 Million), as well as the doubling of per-capita income over the last few years as a result of continuing economic growth have transformed Egypt into a significant market.
Evidence of this is the arrival of dozens of global consumer brands to the country and the sharp expansion of retail sales in the past three years. The fact that 56.5 percent of the Egyptian population is between the ages of 15 and 60 is also of tremendous importance.
4- The availability of a large, well-trained and competitively priced labor force: Egypt has a solid reputation as a net regional exporter of labor services, but the country’s competitive advantage in human resources is gradually shifting towards becoming an adept provider of a skill-intensive workforce at home. Many of the leading sectors of the Egyptian economy - such as ICT, financial services and tourism - are skill-intensive. Wage levels in these sectors are well below those of neighboring countries, and in many cases cheaper than many other nations.
5- Developed Infrastructure: Egypt boasts a broad, world-class infrastructure base. More than eight percent of the world’s total shipping transits through the Suez Canal each year. The country’s 14 ports serve the movement of goods in its different forms (bulk, container or otherwise), while an expansion and upgrade of the airport network caters to both passenger and cargo traffic.
The road infrastructure in the country is very well developed, especially the roads connecting different infrastructure facilities such as ports, airports and industrial zones. Three independent mobile phone networks cover 100 percent of the country’s inhabited land, while broadband internet is readily available in most parts of the country. Energy resources necessary for the development of industrial projects is also available in sufficient quantities to cater to even the most demanding of industries.
And finally, the government has embarked on a new initiative to establish industrial parks for specific nations, where investments from those nations are used to build factories of various sizes and shapes covering different sectors of industry. These parks are provided with all the necessary infrastructure requirements.
6- Proximity to Global Markets: The unique geographic location of Egypt makes the markets of Europe, Africa and Asia readily and easily accessible to any investor. The presence of the Suez Canal gives Egypt an additional advantage as a passage to the different zones of the world.
7- Preferential Access to Key Global Markets: Egypt has concluded a series of preferential trade agreements providing investors with privileged market access to almost 1.4 billion consumers in the European Union through the Partnership Agreement, to the U.S. markets, the QIZ Protocol, to Arab countries, the Pan Arab Free Trade Area, as well as to east and southern African countries through COMESA. Egypt also has free-trade agreements with the European Free Trade Association (Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland) and Turkey.
8- Competitive Tax Rates: Corporate and personal tax rates in Egypt are competitive, and the nation’s newly overhauled tax code is easy to navigate. The new tax law has slashed personal and corporate income taxes by 50 percent across the board to a maximum rate of 20 percent.
9- Reformist Investment Climate: Due to the continuing efforts of the government, foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow increased twelve-fold between 2001 and 2006, making Egypt the number-one destination for FDI in Africa. It accounted for 30 percent of all foreign investment in the continent, according to UNCTAD, which also praised Egypt’s improved investment climate.
The World Bank’s “doing Business 2008 report” which tracks the progress of 178 countries worldwide in terms of how easy it is to start, ranked Egypt as the “top reformer of the year.”
Egypt was also the first African country to sign the OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises.
10- Political Stability and Personal Security: Political stability and the peace that prevails in Egypt and in neighboring countries have made it easy for companies and investors to come in and focus on their businesses.
They do not have to worry about the negative effects of local or regional political atmospheres on their valuable investment or expected income.