Informed sources revealed to the Stock Exchange that the Nile Industrial Fund for Direct Investment, affiliated with the Start Initiative, and the Industrial Investment Fund, affiliated with the Sovereign Fund of Egypt, are studying cooperation to establish companies specialized in manufacturing imported production supplies locally.
The sources added that the private sector is showing willingness to participate with the two funds to provide locally imported manufacturing inputs, in light of the difficulty of implementing these projects independently due to the high costs of borrowing from banks.
The sources indicated that the Egyptian Businessmen Association and the Federation of Egyptian Industries presented the two funds with feasibility studies for investment opportunities that could be manufactured in Egypt, but the challenge lies in the huge investment cost required for these projects.
The sources confirmed that of the 152 investment opportunities that the government presented to the private sector more than a year ago for localization, only 5% were implemented, while the rest of the opportunities face financing challenges and fears of the inability to market the production.
Last year, the Ministry of Industry announced the offering of 152 investment opportunities in the industrial sector to investors with the aim of localizing them, with expectations that they will contribute to bridging an import gap estimated at about 30 billion dollars, according to data from the Ministry of Industry and Transport.
These opportunities include products and supplies in the engineering, chemicals, building materials, food, and medicine sectors, based on an analytical study of imports.
According to a report issued by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, Egypt’s import bill decreased last year to $83.2 billion, compared to $96.2 billion in 2022, a decline of 13.5%.
Majd El-Din Al-Manzalawy, Chairman of the Industry Committee of the Egyptian Businessmen Association, said that the association is preparing to offer a group of investment opportunities to the industrial sub-fund of the “Sovereign Fund of Egypt” with the aim of participating in its capital.
Al-Manzalawi added in a statement to the “Borsa Market” that the committee will communicate with the fund to learn about its plans and objectives after Engineer Hassan Al-Khatib assumed responsibility for managing the sovereign fund, to present them to businessmen who are members of the association and to enhance cooperation and partnership in the coming period.
According to the former CEO of the sovereign fund, Ayman Soliman, the capital of the Industrial Investment Fund may reach 100 billion pounds.
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