Opportunities for Chinese investments - Economy - Al-Ahram Weekly
A delegation from Egypt is set to visit China next month following last week's visit of a Chinese investment delegation to Egypt
A delegation from the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE) is scheduled to visit China next month to promote the industrial opportunities available in the SCZONE, Mustafa Ibrahim, vice chair of the China-Egypt Relations Committee at the Egyptian Businessmen's Association (EBA), told Al-Ahram Weekly.
The visit is part of ongoing efforts to boost Chinese investments in Egypt. Wang Weizhong, governor of Guangdong Province in China, was also in Cairo last week with a delegation representing Chinese government agencies and Chinese companies interested in investing in the Egyptian market. The delegation also included representatives from Chinese companies already operating in Egypt.
Some 2,800 Chinese companies currently operate in Egypt, with total investments exceeding $8 billion, according to the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI). Ibrahim expects Chinese investments to reach $12 billion by the end of 2025.
The Chinese delegation explored investment opportunities in various sectors, including electric vehicles. The visit aimed to support the Chinese government's Belt and Road Initiative and to study investment opportunities in the Egyptian market.
China plans to move many of its factories abroad due to its commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 2026 and to avoid obstacles that could affect its exports to various countries, including members of the European Union, Ibrahim explained.
China is also keen on redirecting its labour force towards high value-added industrial sectors such as the technology industry, in which it has outperformed many of its competitors, he added.
Chinese companies are interested in investing across several sectors in Egypt, including textiles, ready-made garments, electrical appliances, the automotive industry, and natural gas exploration.
Ibrahim said that China has moved into a new era, transitioning from product imitation to innovation, which has made countries like Germany eager to learn about the technologies used in Chinese robots, for example.
China is seeking partners with whom it can strengthen its ties, and Egypt stands out with its large market and trade agreements with many other countries that enable access to nearly three billion consumers, Ibrahim said.
He noted that over the past year and a half visits from Chinese delegations have taken a new and more serious turn, with provincial governors and leaders from the ruling party heading the delegations. Chinese investors are also planning to invest in new sectors, including tourism and the establishment of hotels and are currently studying investment opportunities in that field.
Ibrahim said that cooperation between Egypt and China takes three main forms, with China exporting production inputs and finished products to Egypt, undertaking projects managed by Chinese companies for implementation in Egypt, and injecting direct investments into the Egyptian economy.
He stressed the need for consistent laws and a stable economy to attract foreign investors, making the investment climate more appealing.
Ahmed Mounir Ezzeddin, chair of the China-Egypt Relations Committee at the Egyptian Businessmen's Association (EBA), told the Weekly that Egypt's infrastructural development, both in terms of urban expansion and power networks, has opened the door for the establishment of large and medium-sized factories and has encouraged various investments, including those from China.
China's only industrial city on the African continent is in Egypt in the shape of the China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone on the shores of the Red Sea and south of the Suez Canal. This started on an area of three million square metres and has now expanded to 10 million, reflecting Egypt's importance to Chinese investors.
Ezzeddin said that Egypt possesses several factors that attract Chinese investments, such as the new investment law, an improved business environment and a competitive labour force, in addition to competitive electricity and fuel prices.
He highlighted that recent measures to regulate the import of finished products have encouraged Chinese investors to inject capital into the home appliance sector, aligning with Egypt's goal to provide competitively priced locally produced products for both domestic consumption and export.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 29 May, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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