As part of their visit to Qatar to promote investment opportunities in Egypt, GAFI CEO and Deputy Minister for Investment Affairs, Promotions, and Government Offerings met with several Qatari companies to discuss key available opportunities and the expansion plans of companies already operating in Egypt.
- They reviewed the measures Egypt has taken to improve the business environment and facilitate investment procedures.
- A series of meetings were held with Qatar Mining, Al Mana Group, and Hassad to present major opportunities available for Qatari companies to invest in Egypt.
- Qatar Mining expressed interest in investing in gold and copper, while Al Mana Group explored expanding its current investments in Egypt.
Hossam Heiba, CEO of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), and Dr. Ghada Nour, Deputy Minister for Investment Affairs, Promotions and Government Offerings, continued their meetings with major Qatari companies during their current visit to the State of Qatar, with the aim of attracting Qatari companies to invest in Egypt.
The visit is part of the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade’s plan, represented by GAFI, to highlight available investment opportunities across various sectors in Egypt and attract additional Qatari companies interested in investing in the country.
In this context, meetings were held with the CEO of Qatar Mining, Al Mana Group—which manages over 30 companies across various sectors—and Hassad Food Company, one of the investment arms of Qatar Investment Authority.
During the meeting with Mr. Hamad Rashid Al Athbah, CEO of Qatar Mining, Mr. Heiba presented the latest developments in Egypt’s mining sector and the incentives offered to this industry, which is considered one of the government’s top priorities in the coming period. He highlighted Egypt’s many competitive advantages in mining, including new laws and regulations that make investment in the sector more attractive, as well as ongoing work to develop a digital platform for mining industries to provide essential data for this sector.
Egypt aims to increase the mining sector’s contribution to GDP from 0.5% to around 5% by 2030. The meeting also included an overview of the Golden Triangle Economic Zone and recent developments in this regard that facilitate investment in the mining sector for interested companies.
The representative of Qatar Mining expressed the company’s interest in investing in Egypt’s mining sector—especially gold and copper—in addition to their interest in establishing gold refineries. The company aims to expand its foreign investments by initiating projects in Egypt in the coming period. It was agreed to exchange data and hold coordination meetings with relevant entities to study investment opportunities in Egypt’s mining sector.
In this context, Dr. Ghada Nour stated that Egypt is giving increasing attention to the gold sector, especially in refining, manufacturing, and maximizing local added value. She noted that the Prime Minister recently issued a decree to form the supreme committee for gold, tasked with developing a comprehensive strategy for the sector, coordinating among relevant entites, facilitating procedures, enhancing transparency, and attracting serious investments.
Dr. Ghada affirmed that forming this committee reflects the government’s commitment to supporting the expansion of gold refining and related industries, and that the ministry is ready to cooperate with Qatar Mining to explore potential investment opportunities.
A meeting was also held with Al Mana Group, one of the largest Qatari companies, which manages more than 30 subsidiaries in sectors such as industry, agriculture, food manufacturing, and real estate and tourism development. The group represents more than 100 global brands.
Al Mana Group currently invests in Egypt in several projects related to industrial and medical gases at various locations. In addition, the group is exploring expanding its investments in Egypt in the upcoming period in the tourism sector through establishing a hotel, as well as projects in agricultural and poultry production.
An overview of Egypt’s tourism sector and its specific incentives was also presented, along with the State’s strategy to attract global companies to invest in this promising sector. Egypt aims to double tourist arrivals in the coming period, which requires increasing the number of hotel rooms in line with the State’s Vision 2030.
The Egyptian delegation also met, on the sidelines of the visit, with Hassad Food Company, one of the investment arms of Qatar Investment Authority, which operates in the field of food security. Hassad aims to increase its imports of animal feed from Egypt and explore opportunities to establish joint projects in agricultural feed production.
During the meeting, indicators related to Egypt’s agricultural sector were presented, as it is considered one of the targeted and promising sectors.
Investment opportunities in agriculture and food manufacturing were shared for the company’s review. Furthermore, the Head of the Commercial Office in Doha coordinated with the company to provide it with the list of accredited Egyptian exporters in this field who are by the company, so it can expand its import volume from Egypt and ensure ongoing coordination.
