Mr. Heiba: “Within two years, Egypt will become the regional hub for the manufacturing and trade of textiles and ready-made garments in the Mediterranean region."

GAFI CEO Mr. Hossam Heiba and Chairman of Textile Export Council (TEC) Eng. Hani Sallam met with Mr. Daniel Stockdale, Vice President of Crystal Martin for Textiles and Ready-made Garments, to discuss the company's plans to invest in Egypt. The meeting was attended by Mr. J.K. Ang, General Manager of Construction and Facilities at Crystal Martin, and Ms. Rasha Fahim, Executive Director of TEC.
Crystal Martin Group, headquartered in Hong Kong,​ plans to establish its own factory in Egypt under the Free Zones framework. The project will be set up on an area of 1.5 million square meters and is expected to provide 4,000 job opportunities. It will also involve the localization of the company's technology in Egypt and the development of a high-efficiency value chain based on a local component ratio ranging from 60% to 70%.

GAFI CEO Mr. Hossam Heiba stated that Egypt currently possesses all the necessary elements to become a global hub for the manufacturing and trade of ready-made garments, thanks to the surge in demand for textile and ready-made garments production in Egypt over the past few years. He also pointed to the significant improvement in the roads and ports network that connects production centers within Egypt to targeted external markets at competitive costs.

Mr. Heiba announced that over the past years, GAFI has examined the experiences of leading countries in the re-export of textiles and ready-made garments, and assessed the needs of major brands in the sector. He predicted that Egypt will become the regional hub for the manufacturing and trade of textiles and ready-made garments in the Mediterranean within two years, as well as the establishment of regional offices for major global brands in Egypt. He added that production will begin in many factories that have injected new investments and expanded within public and private free zones in Minya, New Alamein, 10th of Ramadan, Sadat City, and the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone). He also highlighted the high efficiency and price competitiveness of Egyptian services and production operations compared to markets in the region.

Eng. Hani Sallam, Head of TEC, affirmed Egypt's readiness to become the regional hub for the manufacturing and distribution of all textile industry products. This is particularly timely given the country's remarkable infrastructure development and the significant reduction in government processing times,especially in relation to free zones and customs ports, which greatly facilitate and accelerate import and re-export operations.

He also emphasized TEC's full support for the promotional efforts undertaken by GAFI to attract global companies to open offices in Cairo and establish distribution centers under both public and private free zone frameworks, which are well aligned with the specific needs of the textile sector.

Mr. Daniel Stockdale, Vice President of Operations at Crystal Martin, announced the company's plan to relocate a substantial portion of its production operations to Egypt. This strategic move is driven by the attractive tax and non-tax incentives, along with simplified procedures for business establishment and operations. In addition, Egypt offers a readily available, well-trained workforce.

The company aims to commence actual production within two years, targeting export markets that have trade agreements with Egypt, particularly the European Union and the United States.

Mr. Stockdale further announced the company's intention to apply for the Golden License, which would help fast-track both the construction and operational phases of the project. Crystal Martin's investment fulfills all the eligibility criteria for the license, including high employment, technology transfer, a strong emphasis on workforce training, and a clear focus on exports, in addition to other criteria that are fully aligned with the Egyptian government's development agenda.

Crystal Martin Group reports annual revenues of approximately USD 2.5 billion and serves as a manufacturing partner for several leading global brands, including Levi's, Adidas, and Nike, through its production facilities located in China and Southeast Asia.​