Business Monthly - March 2020

www.amcham.org.eg/bmonthly

NOT FOR SALE

MARCH 2020

DREAM

CATCHERS ALSO INSIDE

▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲

COMPETING FOR INVESTORS A GROWING DEBT BUBBLE SUSTAINABLE TOURISM NEW EXERCISE TRENDS

NEW

CAIRO

Bridging together for

TOMORROW

www.ebebank.com

DISCOVER TRUE LUXURY WITH CIB PRIVATE CIB Private is your gateway to an exclusive world, carefully tailored for you. Discover our new segment that offers you the best in banking and investment solutions, and lifestyle benefits inaccesible to others.

To know more visit www.cib/private.com

CBC Advantage delivers the highest quality of services that exceeds the expectations of our esteemed clients Investment Opportunities

Real Estate Development

Market Research

Asset Valuation

Highest & Best Use Studies

SOME OF OUR VALUED CLIENTS

ITWORX

www.coldwellbanker-eg.com

Dining With Style

AT GRAND NILE TOWER

Enjoy the stunning views of the Nile River at El Sakya Souk open air terrace offering an enticing menu of a wide variety of authentic Indian, Italian, Mediterranean classics, Tex Mex cuisine and a selection of fresh seafood prepared to your liking.

Experience Okashi, a simple yet suave cuisine of Asian-inspired bites, a fresh exquisite selection of sushi and sashimi and traditionally themed Teppanyaki tables, magnificently poised by the Nile.

Matchless dining experience while cruising the Nile aboard Marquise, Grand Nile Tower’s private yacht, offering superb cuisine and live entertainment, during its lunch and dinner cruises.

The Pyramids, the River Nile and the entire city of cairo all into view while enjoying a true gastronomical journey of the senses at the Revolving restaurant.

Grand Nile Tower, P.O. Box 2288, Corniche El-Nil, Garden City, Cairo, Egypt Tel. +202 23651234 Fax. +202 23621927 Email: info@grandniletower.com www.grandniletower.com

IN THE HEART OF SHEIKH ZAYED.

PARK-CONNECTED OFFICE SPACES

Workday. Nightlife.

Delivering 2020

15166

Parkst-eg.com

Advertorial

Mountain View Announces Expansion in 2020 in Egyptian Local Market Leading real estate developer targets EGP 8 billion contractual sales in 2020 after achieving sales of EGP 6 billion in 2019 Known for its signature white and blue architecture as well as top-notch standards, Mountain View is synonymous with innovation in design and unparalleled lifestyle. The past year has witnessed several achievements for the pioneering developer; nevertheless, 2020 will bring more milestones.

Starting with an ambitious expansion plan for the coming year, Mountain View revealed its plans to expand into 6 of October City further. In parallel, the progressive developers also announced that the company’s sales record reached EGP 6 billion in 2019, with aims to reach EGP 8 billion in 2020.

“Mountain View owns a large private land bank in the West Cairo region, which amounts to 800 acres, divided over four projects, making it one of Mountain View’s most strategic areas for the developer’s expansion plans. Mountain View also strives to maintain the highest environmental specifications in all its projects, applying the latest smart solutions that separate the movement of individuals in residential areas from cars to create a safer society. It also provides solutions to support smart infrastructure, ensuring the highest speed and quality of communications, and support information technology within the projects. Additionally, the projects enjoy vast green areas that provide owners with utmost comfort and peace of mind,” stated Mountain View CEO, Amr Soliman.

Soliman further stressed, “The step of establishing a new project in the west reflects the capabilities that live up to the confidence and trust granted to us by the Egyptian government and the Ministry of Housing that selected us to implement this project. Through this new project, we renew our commitment to our clients and their needs. We also confirm our commitment to creating more real estate products that provide owners with the best quality ever.”

Mountain View’s latest project in 6 of October City is established over 70 acres within iCity and displays new and modern designs according to the latest ones adopted in global cities. It is in the heart of 6 of October City and proximity to most attractive and vital destinations, only two minutes away from the Shooting Club, Mall of Arabia, and Juhayna Square.

Mountain View’s land portfolio is one of the largest land portfolios in the Egyptian real estate market, which caters to the company’s plans to offer more projects that reached 15 projects nationwide. Ten of these projects are livable communities, which will serve more than 12 thousand families by the end of 2020.

R AV I S H YO U R S E L F IN DELIGHT Ever wondered what exceptional Italian cuisine in an iconic setting is like? Alfredo Restaurant has got the answer. Savor sumptuous – mouthwatering menu ranging from the famed wood fire Napolitano pizza to creatively prepared chicken, beef and salmon dishes. To complete the perfect dinner scene, indulge in the Italian atmosphere with live music by the magical guitar melodies.

Book your unforgettable dining experience in a delightful ambience.

Open for lunch and dinner.

6 . P Y R A M I D S R OA D, P.O. B OX 12 5 5 6 , G I Z A , C A I R O, E GY P T T: 0 0 . 2 0 2 . 33 .77. 32 2 2 M : 0 0 . 2 01 . 0 6 . 8 8 . 177 27 M A R R I OT T M E N A H O U S E C A I R O.C O M A R A B I C . M A R R I OT T.C O M

MARCH 2020 VOLUME 37

|

ISSUE 3

Inside 18 Editor s Note 20 Viewpoint

The Newsroom 22 In Brief

A thumbnail look at top monthly trends

24 Legal Affairs 26 Regional Focus In the zone The Suez Canal free economic zone faces tough competition from the Middle East and Africa.

30 American Impact Global financial crisis: part two U.S. firms are taking on too much debt that they risk taking the U.S. economy down, if growth rates decrease.

44 The Changing World: Tourism Sector under the microscope Egypt faces the need to make tourism sustainable.

Š Copyright Business Monthly 2020. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the prior written consent of the editor.

The opinions expressed in Business Monthly do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt.

14• Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

MARCH 2020 VOLUME 37

|

ISSUE 3

32 Cover Story Women working wonders Business Monthly talks to five of the most powerful Egyptian women in business about their career decisions.

Cover Design: Nessim N. Hanna

48 At a Glance Key facts about industry in Egypt

50 Market Watch Investors cash in on M&A action

52 The High Life New-age exercise: Workouts for the soul

The Chamber 56 Events 65 Exclusive Offers 68 Media Lite An irreverent glance at the press

Š Copyright Business Monthly 2020. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the prior written consent of the editor.

The opinions expressed in Business Monthly do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt.

16• Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

ASIAN FUSION...

SHARE DELICIOUSNESS AT TO R I I .

Mysterious, exotic and fun too... Torii’s re-styled Japanese menu brings a modern twist.

‘Ebi Furai’ and ‘Thai Papaya Salad’... ‘sharing’ dishes with Prime Sirloin Steak, shrimps and prawns... soups, salads, sauces, spices and herbs.

Don’t miss the mouthwatering sushi and sashimi “All-You-Can-Eat” feast every Monday and Friday.

Take front row seats for the shimmering blades and flaring flames of teppanyaki with sea bass, tenderloin beef and lobster tail.

Eat, talk, share, relax... have fun!

16 S A R AY E L G E Z I R A S T. , P O B O X 33 Z A M A L E K , C A I R O 11211 , E G Y P T. T: 0 0 . 2 0 2 . 27. 2 8 . 3 0 0 0 C AI ROM ARRIOT THOTEL .COM

A R A B I C . M A R R I OT T.C O M /C A I E G

Editor’s Note

Change of plans

A

s we started to close this issue, I had a clear idea of what I wanted to write about in this space. It was how some professionals have been able to stay ahead of most of their peers, which is evident from our cover story (p. 32) about five remarkable Egyptians on Forbes’ list of “Forbes Middle East Power Businesswomen.”

Also in this issue, we look at the rising competition facing the Suez Canal Economic Free Zone from Africa and the Arab World (p.26), as each tries to attract foreign direct investors by offering a full suite of services, top-notch infrastructure, and favorable legislation.

Laslty, are those who are feeling the sting of making bad choices. One prominent example is large-scale U.S. companies who taking on so much debt they can barely afford to pay installments (p. 30), putting the American economy perilously close to a recession.

However, at the proverbial 11th hour (February 28), my newsfeed spoke of global economic doom and gloom as a new breed coronavirus, Covid-19, spreads at a fearful pace across the globe. The Dow Jones had its worst showing since 2008 during the last week of February. It would likely get worse given that nearly no one knows how far this disease would spread, or what that would entail. The World Health Organization raised its risk assessment of the virus to its highest level a few hours after the Dow closed.

Saudi Arabia temporarily canceled religious trips to Mecca, while the Emirates halted flights to select destinations. Google canceled an international event in Las Vegas, while others question whether the Summer Olympics in Tokyo should proceed.

The numbers, however, show that the doom-and-gloom is a reaction to a media hype. Out of the total confirmed cases, there was a 3.4 percent mortality rate while 48.6 percent recovered from the virus, according to a real-time tracker that is updated

by Johns Hopkins CSSE. Nevertheless, Covid-19 will hurt all economies as industrial activity, trade and tourism are disrupted by decision-makers trying to protect against it. The virus has already spread to over 80 nations out of the world’s 195 at press time. That is nullifying all economic forecasts as nations struggle to cope with a possible pandemic no one expected a few months ago. The Economist reported that in the coming 12 months, global growth could lose 2 percentage points, bringing global GDP growth down to around 1 percent. “If it is worse... the world economy could shrink,” it wrote.

For Egypt, 2020 was supposed to be another year of significant economic recovery as GDP growth approaches 6 percent and the budget deficit narrows. Now those forecasts are out the window.

Egypt is a net importer of basic commodities. Thereby, any disrupts to supply could have disastrous consequences. As such, the government needs to formulate a new economic plan that adapts to the global realities in 2020. That plan needs to be comprehensive, inclusive, fast and, above all, unprecedentedly effective from the get-go.

TAMER HAFEZ

Acting Managing Editor

Director of Publications & Research Khaled F. Sewelam Acting Managing Editor Tamer Hafez Contributing Editor Kate Durham Consulting Editor Bertil G. Peterson Writers Ola Noureldin Adam Skaria Senior Art Director Nessim N. Hanna Senior Graphic Designer Emy Emile Graphic Designer Verina Maher Advertising & Business Development Director Amany Kassem Advertising Specialist Lamia Seleit Advertising & Ad Traffic Coordinator Rowan Maamoun Photographers Karim el Sharnouby Said Abdelmessih Soha El Gabi Production Supervisor Hany Elias Market Watch Analyst Amr Hussein Elalfy Chamber News Contacts Nada Abdalla, Azza Sherif, Susanne Winkler

U.S. address: 1615 H Street, NW • Washington, D.C. 20062 Please forward your comments or suggestions to the Egypt editorial office:

Business Monthly

American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt 33 Soliman Abaza Street, Dokki 12311 • Cairo • Egypt Tel: (20-2) 3338-1050 • Fax: (20-2) 3338-0850 E-mail: publications@amcham.org.eg www.amcham.org.eg/bmonthly CTP and printing: Sahara Printing Company, SAE – Nasr City Free Zone @BusinessMonthlyEg

18• Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

@BusinessMonthly

@BusinessMonthly

TSEBO SOLUTIONS GROUP OFFERS CLIENTS WORKPLACE PRODUCTIVITY THAT SUPPORTS THEIR SUCCESS. Our local expertise, global standards and innovative integrated solutions enable us to be the company that supports the best companies across MIDDLE EAST AFRICA.

SERVICES FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

PROTECTION

REMOTE CAMPUS

HYGIENE

CATERING

PROCUREMENT

CLEANING

ENERGY

SECTORS OIL & GAS

EDUCATION

RETAIL

HEALTHCARE SOLUTION

MINING AND RESOURCE SOLUTION

REAL ESTATE

253, NORTH TESEEN ST, NEW CAIRO, EGYPT

www.tseboegypt.com

+ (202) 28107070

Viewpoint

Leadership

in the Age of Disruption

U

sually when people talk about disruption, the first thing that comes to mind is the impact that emerging innovative information and communication technologies have on individuals, organizations and society at large. Among these innovations are artificial intelligence, robotics, drones and digital transformation, to name just a few – all representing real game changers to the society.

However, as we start the third decade of the 21st century, disruption is coming in different shapes and forms, and the merger of infotech and biotech is already proving that there are no boundaries to the prospects lying ahead and that it will take a different type of leadership to navigate the new realities of the fourth industrial revolution.

In many ways, we are living in an age of pervasive and unprecedented uncertainty. The disruptions impacting our society are not just political, economic, and social; they are also affecting the way we live, work, study, travel, communicate, stay healthy, get entertained and more. Accordingly, in addition to planning for tomorrow, each one of us should be ready, capable and agile to adapt to the continuously changing developments happening today.

Over the last few weeks, disruption came in the form of the Coronavirus, which remains much unknown. What we do know is that it started in China and has since spread in many other countries around the world. Accordingly, as governments issued precautionary warnings and closed schools, the global travel industry started to get affected, manufacturing slowed, stock market indices tumbled, and some economies started to suffer. This is a sobering example of the damage that uncertainty and disruption can cause to business and trade globally. We are living in a time and age when supply chains, retailing and consequently consumer purchasing power are key factors in determining economic growth, and they all need an environment of trust and confidence to flourish.

This might just be a wake-up call, a mild deviation for global trade that will correct itself in the not too distant future. But whether this disruption is short-term or here for the long haul, it will push people to think, prepare and lead in a different way. Leaders will need to pay more attention to enterprise and societal risks and formulate strategies to deal with similar situations in the future, given the degree of vulnerabilities we have all seen over the last few weeks. For now, it looks like the perfect storm, and we are all learning as we go how to deal with it.

It is indeed a challenging time. It seems that everything is increasingly becoming fastpaced, unpredictable, and dubious – especially with social media and the so-called alternative realities – so where to go from here? The world needs a different style of leadership that is more visionary, effective, pragmatic, engaging and transparent. In the age of continuous disruption, there is a dire need for leaders who are humble and genuinely willing to reach out to their constituencies and ecosystems for guidance so they can effectively navigate through the endless uncertainties. Because whether disruptions are local or global in nature, they all have worldwide repercussions. It is truly a flat world, irrespective of time and distance barriers.

Next month, another viewpoint…

SHERIF KAMEL

President, AmCham Egypt

20• Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

THE NEWSROOM IN BRIEF

Colliers predicts tourist spending of $29.7 billion in 2024 Tourist spending in Egypt is expected to hit $29.7 billion in 2024 from $16.4 billion last year, according to Colliers International forecasts.

Germany accounted for the largest share of spending in Egypt last year and continued to be the top source market with 2.5 million visitors in 2019.

Colliers expects the influx of tourists from Germany, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Libya and Sudan currently the top tourism source markets to rise 27 percent by 2024 to 8.8 million.

Egypt also is expected to see an 11 percent year-on-year increase in Gulf tourist arrivals this year, which Colliers says will

Libya 6% 2019 : 766 2024 : 902

Sudan 10%

Germany 3% 2019 : 2,479 2024 : 2,903

2019 : 752 2024 : 1,200

22• Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

likely be driven by Saudi Arabian visitors.

The Tourism Ministry is looking to boost the number of tourists visiting Egypt to 30 million annually, said Tourism and Antiquities Minister Khaled El Enany. He did not specify a timeframe for the goal, which would be a 130 percent increase from the 13 million visitors Egypt welcomed in 2019.

The Tourism Ministry plans to increase the number of flights among popular destinations such as Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada and Luxor, and attract higher-spending tourists. The 2018 Egyptian Tourism Reform Program E-TRP also launched several international promotional campaigns.

Ukraine 3% 2019 : 1,490 2024 : 1,975

KSA 5%

2019 : 1,410 2024 : 1,802

In Brief

New bid round for eastern desert gold exploration Egypt plans to launch an exploration round for gold in the Eastern Desert in the first half of March, an official at the Mineral Resources Authority said in February. Investors will bid on blocks to be awarded within four months.

Canada s Aton Resources became the first company in more than a decade to secure a gold mining license in Egypt, which issued new regulations in January to ease foreign investment in the sector. The new rules eliminate the requirement for joint ventures with the Egyptian government and limit state royalties to no more than 20 percent. These were measures long advocated by the private sector.

The license is for 20 years, with the possibility of extending it to 10 years, said Aton President and Chief Executive Mark Campbell. The license allows the company to start the Hamama development, as well as continue exploration at Rodruin and

elsewhere within the Abu Marawat concession.

It underscores Egypt s new commitment to developing its exploration and mining sector, said Campbell. Egypt is a country with vast untapped mineral potential, not only in gold but across all precious, base and industrial minerals.

Egypt has a goal of $700 million in new investments in mining and energy by 2030.

Aton s permit is the second mining license issued since 2005, when Centamin the country s main gold producer was granted a license. Centamin said last month it plans to invest $190 million this year in its Sukkari mine in the Eastern Desert.

The London-listed mine company will spend $95 million on revamping the site, $45 million on a new waste management facility and $50 million on a 30-megawatt solar facility, according to the company s earnings report.

Trade deficit shrinks by 10.8 percent Egypt s trade deficit dropped by 10.8 percent in December to $3.45 billion compared to the same month in 2018, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics CAPMAS said in its monthly report.

Total exports increased 0.5 percent to $2.59 billion in December, the report said, citing an increase in the value of some exported products.

The CAPMAS report said the value of exported petroleum products rose 25.3 percent, pastries, and various food products 24.7 percent, ceramic tiles and sanitaryware 6.5 percent, and medical and pharmaceutical products 5.7 percent.

Trade deficit shrinks by

10.8

Report examines AI’s potential in the energy sector Artificial intelligence AI technologies have the potential to create value ranging from $3.5 trillion to $5.8 trillion annually across 19 energy industries, according to a report by American management consulting firm McKinsey & Co. We see AI and the full power of digital analytics coming up in all parts of the energy system, whether in oil or gas, said Rachid Majiti, senior partner at McKinsey. It has been a tech-heavy industry. It is now, more than ever, cheaper to capture, process and store data, which means you can use much more complex and advanced algorithms to optimize your oil and gas operations, translating into more production output and lower costs.

Majiti cited significant opportunities for AI in the management of renewable energy generation as users need to understand, monitor and adjust output patterns. As consumers start playing a role as producers of electricity at home in the future, AI can help manage demand and supply between the network and source.

In the Middle East, energy demand is expected to grow by 10 to 15 percent in total by 2035 and by 20 percent by 2050.

Several countries in the MENA region began introducing

smart meters designed to help utilities companies monitor power and demand, said the report. For example, Saudi Arabia plans to establish an advanced billing infrastructure of 8.3 million smart meters over the next seven years.

The overall Saudi smart grid market is predicted to reach a value of $3.6 billion before 2030, the study said.

Moreover, the $500 billion Neom, a special economic zone covering Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan, is expected to be fully powered through AI-based solutions using 100 percent renewable energy. According to the McKinsey report, such a plan would enhance AI s influence on how the Arab region finds solutions to urban energy challenges.

AI also could help determine the best locations for solar panels, the report says.

In the near future, the report anticipates increasing investment in AI applications for renewable energy. This could be through material science for more efficient solar cells, exploration of biofuels or using complex simulations to understand how to run our cities in the most environmentally efficient manner, the report said.

Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

•23

GoodAdvice Boutique law firm Khodeir & Partners are raising the bar when it comes to providing companies with legal advice on how to operate in Egypt

W

ith experience in the government’s investment workshop — The General Authority for Investment and Free Zones — the Egyptian private sector, and GCC-based firms, few could match Khodeir & Partners’ expertise. “How the government sees the Egyptian economy is completely different from how the private sector does, different still from how foreign firms perceive both,” says Mohamed Khodeir, the firm’s founder and managing partner.

“We offer sound advice and effective solutions to our clients because we see the whole picture.”

Being advised by a company of such a high caliber could prove crucial for local and foreign companies. For one, the government is undergoing deep-rooted legislative reforms, which is changing how many companies operate in almost every sector in Egypt. “The changes that the state is adopting right now are all to the benefit of investment,” says Khodeir.

“However, correctly understanding those new laws and adjusting your business model to penetrate the market opportunities is a must to capitalize on their benefits.”

Khodeir explains that adopting a boutique law firm business model, “allows us to invest time and resources to know what our clients’ needs are up to the most micro detail,” he says.

“That enables us to render first-class services that are not only legally sound but also practically sensible.

Practice areas

One of Khodeir & Partners’ specializations is Corporate Structuring and Restructuring Advice and Implementation.

“We work closely with our clients to ensure they maximize the benefits offered by the Egyptian legal system,” says Khodeir. “Be it a free zone, an onshore or SEC zone vehicle; we are mindful as to the most appropriate structure that suits business needs and enjoys incentive packages offered in Egypt.”

Khodeir & Partners also specializes in advising mergers and acquisitions and capital markets, having led deals worth $50 billion in a wide range of sectors across the region. “Handling M&A transactions requires a deep understanding of the local regulatory environment as well as international best practices to negotiate a deal that satisfies all parties involved successfully,” says the law firm’s founder.

Dispute resolution is another area where Khodeir & Partners excel. “Our Dispute Resolution team under the leadership of the rising star of Dispute Resolution, my partner Ahmed Kotb as recognised by legal ranking agencies regularly advise a and represent international and Egyptian clients in a broad spectrum of industries,” notes Khodeir. “Our lawyers have been involved in litigation and arbitration disputes related to investment, banking, maritime and international trade, and construction among others.”

The firm also has experience with arbitration where Khodeir & Partners lawyers handled cases filed with ICC,

CRCICA, DIAC, SCAI, YCCA arbitration institutes. “We also handle Ad-hoc and UNCITRAL Arbitration.

Litigation is another service that the firm provides. “Our lawyers worked and represented clients in commercial and administrative proceedings before Courts of all degrees as well as the Ministerial Committees for the Settlement of Investment Contracts’ Disputes,” notes Khodeir.

Khodeir & Partners can also give clients insights into recent decisions and policies that aim to bolster local investments of large firms and SMEs.

Services on offer

Khodeir & Partners offers over 17 different services such as contracts drafting and review, competition and consumer protection, property laws, including land allocation procedures, and tax law. The firm also advises on GAFI, Egyptian Tax Authority, and Industry Development Authority procedures.

For the full list of our general corporate commercial and dispute resolution portfolio, please visit website: www.mkhodeir.com or email: info@mkhodeir.com.

Regional Focus

In the

ZONE

Egypt touts the Suez Canal Special Economic Zone as an investment hotbed in Africa and the Middle East.

However, it faces stiff competition from Morocco, Kenya and Saudi Arabia.

By Tamer Hafez

W

ith five of the world!s 10 fastest-growing economies located in Africa, the continent is witnessing an unprecedented economic boom. To sustain it, governments have to quickly implement strategies and policies favorable to potential and existing foreign investors.

To avoid being bogged down by incumbent administrative and regulatory problems, almost all those countries are fasttracking construction of Special Economic Zones SEZs that have their own administrative and regulatory frameworks.

The Suez Canal Special Economic Zone SCZone is Egypt!s most ambitious attempt to date to compete with 236 other SEZs in Africa, according to a 2019 report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNCTAD . However, despite being in the works since 2015, the SCZone is still years away from completing phase one.

We have a nearly completed master plan of the project, Yehia Zaki, chairman of the SCZone, told AmCham Egypt in January.

Worryingly, the UNCTAD report conducted a global survey that ranked competition from neighboring countries 47 percent of respondents as the top threat to the success of SEZs.

26• Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

Testbeds for investors

An SEZ is commonly defined as a geographically limited area with its own infrastructure, incentives and more favorable legislation than the rest of the country. SEZs are often used as a proving ground for reforms that can then be spread to the broader economy, according to the Policy Center for the New South, a Moroccan think tank, in June.

There are three basic types of SEZs. The first is free-trade zones, which are most common in the MENA region.

Most prominent is Jebel Ali in the U.A.E. that focuses on trans-shipment and re-export of goods. The second type is export-processing zones EPZs , such as the Qualifying Industrial Zones QIZs in Egypt and Jordan. Exports are exempt from customs at the destination market if they meet specific criteria. The third type is an SEZ with a variety of industrial sites, residential areas, services and ports. The most prominent in the Middle East and Africa are the SCZone and TangierMed in Morocco.

Other types of SEZs are hybrids,

but with a competitive edge. For example, there are green SEZs, urban zones, single-factory export processing zones, sustainable SEZs and public-private partnership zones.

According to the UNCTAD report, Egypt has 10 SEZs, ranking third in Africa behind Kenya 61 SEZs and Nigeria 38 zones . Cameroon is a close fourth with nine. The majority attract labor-intensive, low-skill manufacturing with high potential for export, such as textiles and garments.

Some are linked to surrounding natural resources, such as the Golden Triangle in Egypt that targets mining investments.

The most common types of Egyptian SEZs are industrial zones.

Some are free zones, while others are private with only one company.

Businesses in those zones are legally outside Egypt and don!t pay taxes or customs, and exports are processed faster than those outside the areas.

The government categorizes goods produced in SEZs as imports, subject to standard customs and duty fees if sold in Egypt.

Regional Focus

Ambitious SEZ

The SCZone is the largest and most ambitious SEZ in Egypt. It extends from Arish city in the northeast to the New Administrative Capital, Damietta Logistics Port, and 10th of Ramadan City to the west, and south to the Golden Triangle SEZ. In that area, there are four promising investment zones totaling 460 square kilometers, said Zaki. That area includes four industrial zones, several ports on the Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Suez Canal, and one dry port in 10th of Ramadan City.

The SCZone focuses on investment in ports and logistics, maritime services, manufacturing, information technology and green power. Secondary sectors include government services, agriculture, mining and tourism, said Zaki.

The aim is to create 1 million jobs by 2030 in the SCZone and 2.5 million more by 2050.

Priority industries include automotive, construction, electronics and home appliances, agribusiness and packaged foods, textiles, pharmaceuticals and logistics, according to Zaki.

The competition: Morocco

Manufacturing is vital for Morocco!s GDP, accounting for more than 25 percent of the national economy,

according to Oxford Business Group OBG profile of the country in 2019.

To promote that vital sector internationally, Morocco developed industrial ecosystems around clusters that align, establishing increasingly lean and efficient manufacturing value chains, noted the OBG report. This is reflected in the effort to develop SEZs and industrial areas with sectoral focus, from automotive to pharmaceutical.

A case in point is the Tangier Automotive City, a specialized free zone with direct access to Tangier!s main seaport.

The original plan was for manufacturing to account for 23 percent of GDP by 2020; Morocco reached that benchmark in 2017. According to a PwC report, the new target is for the sector to supply 30 percent of GDP by 2022.

A big part of that success can be attributed to incentives. Companies in SEZs are exempt from taxes on dividends and pay no corporate tax for the first five years, then an 8.75 percent rate for the next 20 years. The national corporate tax rate is 31 percent.

Additionally, SEZ companies are exempt from license and municipal taxes for 15 years, as well as registration taxes and stamp duties permanently.

And repatriated earnings are exempt from VAT and other taxes.

Another reason for the success of SEZs in Morocco is direct access to seven Economic Private Zones EPZs at airports, seaports and storage facilities. Primary destinations for goods passing through EPZs are the European Union, United States, Turkey and other Arab countries, such as Egypt. Exported goods are mostly agricultural, textile and leather products, metallurgy, mechanical, electronics and chemicals, according to the OBG profile.

The local government, however, is looking beyond manufacturing as it builds a 2,000-hectare technology SEZ in Tangier in cooperation with China Communications Construction Co. Known as Tangier Tech Mohamed VI, it will focus on attracting investors using the latest food processing, automotive, aeronautical and renewable-energy technology. The state!s goal is $10 billion in foreign investment and 100,000 new jobs, according to state officials speaking to the media in January. The new tech zone will connect to Tanger Med seaport.

The competition: Kenya

With 61 SEZs, Kenya is far and away Africa!s leader after opening its first in 2016. Fueling that rapid growth is a dedicated SEZ law enacted in June

Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

•27

Regional Focus

2015.

Incentives include perpetual exemption from VAT, stamp duty, customs and import duties; taxes on purchases from Kenyan companies and taxes on dividends. The income tax rate for the first 10 years is 10 percent, then 25 percent for the next decade. The national corporate tax rate is 30 percent. Additionally, Kenya passed laws removing limitations on work permits, foreign exchange and repatriation for companies in SEZs. Currently, the government is developing several SEZs. In January, it revealed plans for a second SEZ in Mombasa, the country!s biggest port area.

Also in January, the state announced it had completed a feasibility study for a $391 million, 600-acre SEZ called the Miritini Industrial Complex located in the first SEZ in Mombasa.

The Dongo Kundu SEZ in the fouryear-old Mombasa SEZ is scheduled to open to investors in June 2022. It will encompass a seaport, industrial parks and free-trade zones, as well as a section for meetings,

28• Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

conferences and exhibition tourism.

Meanwhile, near Kenya!s western border is Kisumu County, which allocated in January 10,000 acres for an SEZ in partnership with the World Bank and International Finance Corp.

The Muhoroni constituency in Kisumu County announced plans for a 500-acre SEZ in September. The zone would connect to the national road network, international airport and a seaport.

The ultimate goal is to have an economic zone sitting on 70,000 acres teeming with industries in local consumption and export goods, and offering employment to 3 million people, Alice Moraa, Kisumu County executive member in charge of trade and energy, told Kenyian media.

From a regulatory standpoint, fac-

tories operating in the SEZ in Navisha County will now pay half the national power tariff to attract more businesses.

Business Daily Africa wrote that the move comes at a time when observers have raised concerns that Kenya is falling behind other countries like Ethiopia and Rwanda in winning investment from companies moving supply chains out of China to escape higher tariffs amid the U.S.-China trade war.

Currently, Navisha has a 309-acre green energy industrial park with direct rail connections to Mombasa port.

Companies in the SEZ only export goods, which are mostly textiles and apparel.

The competition: Saudi Arabia

Perhaps the biggest threats to the SCZone are the SEZs that Saudi Arabia is developing under its National Industrial Development and Logistics Program, announced in 2018.

Regional Focus

The program!s mandate is to use SEZs to diversify the national economy. A new law allows 100 percent foreign ownership of companies and residences within the zones, which are regulated by the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority SAGIA . The authority offers a onestop shop in each SEZ to expedite everything from registration to licensing and land assignment.

However, SAGIA has restrictions on investments in military equipment, explosives, oil and gas, real estate brokerages and land transportation other than trains. There also are asset ownership restrictions in Medina and Mecca.

So far, multisector SEZs have opened in Riyadh and Jeddah. Planned is a 180-square-kilometer transshipment SEZ between Makkah, Madinah and Jeddah. Another SEZ will be Knowledge Economic City in Madinah, which will focus on attracting high tech investments. In Ha!il city, there will be an $8 billion SEZ called Prince Abdulaziz bin Mousaed Economic City. The Saudi government earmarked it to attract transport, logistics, and touristic invest-

ments. The fourth SEZ in the works is Jazan Economic City, which will include desalination plants as well as power stations generating up to 4,000 megawatts. That SEZ will cover nearly two-thirds of the city of Jazan.

Chinese connection

Over the past few decades, China has been focused on creating faster transportation networks to the rest of the world as exemplified by the Belt and Road Initiative. One of the initiative!s routes is a maritime connection through Kolkata, India, to Djibouti then through the Suez Canal to Piraeus, Greece, and ultimately Venice, Italy.

That route doesn!t stop in Egypt because, as then-head of the SCZone Ahmed Darwish told AmCham in 2016, there would be no need for an additional stop between Djibouti and Piraeus.

Today China is investing $3.5 billion to build Africa!s largest SEZ 4,800 hectares called Djibouti International Free Zone DIFTZ . Construction is under way on a 240-hectare site that will hold four industrial clusters focus-

ing on trade imports and exports , logistics and manufacturing. That $370 million development will be managed by three Chinese companies.

Complementing the DIFTZ will be a $4 billion, 756-kilometer rail line to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia that promises to cut travel time to 12 hours and make Djibouti a major gateway to Africa.

Future of SEZs

The U.N.!s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, coupled with fast-paced technological developments, are reshaping how businesses operate. According to the UNCTAD report, the biggest challenge facing new SEZs is to adhere to SDGs. They also must account for new industrial norms and technologies, including 3D printing, waste management and digitization. The third challenge responds to changing international production patterns due to the rise of protectionist policies.

Decisions must be quick, and policymakers need the foresight to spot the next big trend and act preemptively. With 500 new SEZs scheduled to be operating this year, according to the UNCTAD report, there is an increasing abundance of choice.

Meanwhile, global FDI is in decline.

It decreased from $380 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018 to just over $200 billion during the second quarter of 2019, according to Bloomberg.

Global FDI has been weak over the last decade. Manufacturing FDI across all developing regions has been structurally lower over the last five years than in the preceding period, noted the UNCTAD report. In response to the tight market for investment in industrial activity, governments must continue to make their investment promotion packages more attractive. n Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

•29

American Impact

Global financial crisis: part two To stimulate economic growth, the U.S. Federal Reserve lowered its prime interest rate to near zero.

However, keeping it at historic lows is creating a corporate debt bubble.

Analysis By Tamer Hafez

W

ith the United States being Egypt s secondbiggest trade partner and the third-largest direct investor in Egypt, the health of U.S. economy has considerable influence on the Egyptian economy and its growth.

As such, reports over the past few months from American think tanks and economists warning of an impending recession should raise red flags in Egypt. *There remains one significant and serious risk to emerging markets: a US recession,) wrote Barry Eichengreen, a former senior policy adviser at the International Monetary Fund, in the Guardian in December 2019.

Such a recession may be accelerated by a potential corporate debt *bubble) given that U.S. firms have been piling on lowinterest debt for over a decade.

According to an August piece by Ariel Santos-Alborna, a columnist at Seeking Alpha, an online portal for stock investors. *Corporate debt to GDP is at its highest level in recorded history.) At the end of last year, more than 58 percent of investment-grade bonds were rated BBB, only one rank above investment grade, according to Barrons, a publication. *Compared with previous credit cycles, today s stock of outstanding corporate bonds has lower overall credit quality, higher payback requirements, longer maturities and inferior covenant protection,) according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD as reported by Reuters in October.

30• Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

A meltdown in corporate finances could happen if the U.S. economy suffers a slowdown that results in a downgrade of BBB-rated debt to junk. *A downturn half as severe as the one spurred by the last financial crisis would result in trillions of dollars in corporate debt being considered at risk, which the IMF International Monetary Fund defines as debt from companies whose earnings would not cover the cost of their interest expenses,) noted the Reuters article.

Brewing crisis

To stimulate the economy after the 2008 global economic crisis, the Fed dropped interest rates from 5.25 percent in 2007 to 0.25 percent by the end of 2009.

Companies started borrowing more and issuing bonds. *Debt s been cheap, so why not do it?) said Jim Schaeffer, deputy chief investment officer of Aegon Asset Management, as reported by Fortune in December. As of February, outstanding U.S. corporate debt topped $10 trillion, according to a Business Insider story.

That compares with global corporate debt of $13.5 trillion, according to an OECD report in January.

The appetite for loans invariably lowered the quality of newly issued debt. A Reuters story in February noted that in 2010, 20 percent of corporate bonds were not investment grade. By 2019 it was 25 percent, according to a OECD report in February. Experts, however, are more concerned that nearly 60 percent of all issued debt in 2019 was rated BBB compared to nearly 30 percent in 2009.

Meanwhile, U.S. companies saw average profit margins decline throughout 2019. *In the last six months, the condition of U.S. corporate finances has become more worrying,) wrote Gavyn Davies, chairman of Fulcrum Asset Management, to the Financial Times in October. *Profit margins have come under increasing downward pressure because producers wage costs have been rising more rapidly than selling prices.)

Deterioration in profit margins caused companies to curtail investments, according to Bastien Drut, senior strategist at CPR Asset Management. Instead, Rite Aid and other companies have used that money to buy back shares, pay dividends, and finance mergers and acquisitions, according to the IMF, as reported by The Financial Times in October. Those tactics are generally used to prop stock prices, according to Santos-Alborna.

Too good to miss

On the demand side, investors have been hunting for higher returns. *The rush into the corporate bond market reflects investors ongoing need for yield at a time when interest rates remain at very low levels,) said The Financial Times article.

The publication noted that debt investors poured $180 billion in U.S. corporate funds last year.

That rush was mainly bond investors looking to sacrifice a bit of safety for higher yields. That included Treasury bond investors were moving out of

American Impact

government debt and into corporate debt. By the end of 2019, the premium paid to investors to finance corporate debt instead of secure government debt dropped to 1.09 percent compared to 1.6 percent at the start of the year. *The spread measures the extra yield or lack thereof investors demand to compensate for corporate credit risk,) said The Financial Times. Accordingly, a low yield means higher demand.

Meanwhile, those invested in safe corporate debt started migrating to BBB debt, which has higher yields than better quality debt but is still investment grade.

According to Bank of America, the U.S. High Yield Total Return Index BBB-rated bonds went from 1,233 points to 1,429 from January 2019 to February 2020.

That increase in demand also translated to stocks just below investmentgrade. *As buyers bid up prices, most junk bonds had seen their average yields drop in 2019. B-rated junk, for instance, has fallen to 6 percent, from just over 8.45 percent in early January,) wrote Fortune in December 2019, a clear sign demand outstrips supply.

Wobbling economy?

The U.S. economy grew 2.1 percent during the second half of 2019, yet the IHS Markit U.S. Manufacturing PMI is hovering between 53 and 50 points, where the latter benchmark indicates that business is stagnant. Those are the lowest scores for the U.S. economy in more

than seven years, according to Trading Economics. *If that trend continues, the remainder of the U.S. economy may struggle to offset the drag from a sluggish manufacturing sector. Even if the U.S. is less dependent on manufacturing than in past decades,) Simon Moore, chief investment officer at Moola, told Forbes in January.

Meanwhile, the New York Fed s Probability Index, which measures the likelihood of a recession in the following 12 months, shows a 32.9 percent chance of a recession this year. Business Insider says it is the highest level since 2009, noting *the measure has breached the 30 percent threshold before every recession since 1960.)

U.S. economists are quick to note the global economy is overdue for a recession given that one has occurred every decade. *Between 1929 and 2008, the United States had 14 recessions, which is on average a recession every 5.6 years,) David Marotta, president of Marotta Wealth Management, told Forbes in January.

Another cause for concern is that as of February 21, yields on U.S. Treasuries maturing in under one year were higher than treasuries maturing from one to three years. Matt Philips, a reporter for the New York Times, explained: *Long-term interest rates are higher because, like any borrower, the government ought to be paying more to borrow for 10 years than for three months.

But every once in a while, things get flipped around in the bond market, and short-term interest rates rise above the long term in a sign that investors expect slower economic growth.)

Lastly, ongoing trade disputes with China and other countries putting the U.S. economy in a precarious position. *If you roll this back to a year ago, we were on track to seeing a very strong economy, lower unemployment, wage growth was picking up, particularly at the low end,) Mark Zandi, chief

economist at Moody s Analytics, told Newsweek in November. *But then we had the trade war. The trade war has done very serious damage to the economy and, in fact, if the president decides to continue to pursue the trade war, recession risks will rise.)

First hit

According to Santos-Alborna, companies with BBB-rated debt would be hurt most as a slowdown in their sales growth rate could cause credit-rating agencies to downgrade their debt into *junk) territory. *So when cash flows decrease in the next recession, there would be less net buyers of BBB debt in a flight to safety, and many BBB corporations become downgraded to junk,) he wrote in a blog on Seeking Alpha in December. As a result, share buybacks currently propping up the stock market will come to a *screeching halt and nothing will be left to support current equity prices,) he added.

As sales decrease in a recession, those precarious firms could find themselves unable to repay their debt or issue new debt. *The junk bond market is less than half the size of the BBB market and typically faces a lack of liquidity at the first sign of recession,) said Santos-Alborna. *A nearly illiquid junk bond market cannot absorb a wave of BBB downgrades.) That would raise the likelihood that those companies would resort to selling off assets to pay their liabilities, similar to what Rite Aid did, or file for bankruptcy.

To prevent a financial meltdown of U.S companies, some experts say Washington would be *forced to bail out overleveraged corporations,) said Santos-Alborna. Alternatively, the Fed would have to maintain low interest rates, while stimulating the economy.

That would ensure that enough cheap debt flows into those companies and enough profits to pay those debts.

Peter Schiff, CEO of Euro Pacific Capital wrote in an October blog: *This is a giant house of cards just waiting for something to nudge the table and send the whole thing toppling down.) n Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

•31

Cover Story

W

omen

orking

onders

Five of Egypt's most powerful women in business talked to Business Monthly about their best and worst decisions, barriers to leadership, and who has inspired them.

By Ola Noureldin On the cusp of International Women’s Day, Forbes Middle East unveiled its annual Power Businesswomen in the Middle East list, packed with 100 leaders at the top of some of the most influential and transformational companies in the MENA region.

“Most people on this list have worked their way up a steep career ladder for decades to reach the top of their professions,” said the Forbes report. “If there were glass ceilings to be smashed, these are the titans that first smashed them.”

Forbes cited nine Egyptian women, and we sat down with five to get their thoughts on the business environment today and challenges for the next generation. Following are excerpts from the interviews.

32• Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

Cover Story

SCAN ME

Business Monthly - MARCH 2020 •

33

Cover Story

What are the two most important traits for your position?

The first thing is to have the courage and the willingness to make difficult and sometimes unpopular decisions. I also think the desire to take some risks and step outside your comfort zone is crucial. Another important one is to build consensus, to bring people together by identifying all stakeholders in a particular situation and communicating effectively.

What's the best business decision you made in 2019?

Changing some of the strategic focuses of the company and increasing the importance of investments, business development, and diversification, looking for new areas in which we can expand. I think it will start to bear fruit in 2020.

What would you do differently if you had to start over from scratch?

I came to this job in an unexpected and unplanned way. My brother, who was chairman and CEO in 2015, was taken ill and passed away in a very short period. As a consequence, I was kind of thrust into this position without being fully prepared for it. If I went back in time, I would have planned to engage in certain aspects of the business and to learn in a more hands-on approach. I would dig more deeply into some of the operational and customer aspects of the business that I was never directly involved with.

What was your dream job growing up?

The interesting thing is I never saw myself in this job, ever.

You know I had phases, as many kids do, but eventually, what I settled on was that I wanted to be a computer programmer. So I studied computer science and did a fair amount of programming at the beginning of my career, and I enjoyed that very much. That was probably because, to me, computer programming had an element close to writing, where it is very satisfying to write something and come up with a very elegant piece of code that works.

Describe one of your biggest failures, what lessons did you learn?

I tend to be a pretty structured person who likes to take things one step at a time and get as much input as possible from the people around me. I wouldn’t say there have been any massive failures, but maybe taking a little bit too much time on some things. Also, sometimes an idea looks very attractive, and because you worked on that idea, you can be a bit reluctant to give up on it and have it fail early, so that is maybe the other thing.

What do you think is the most significant barrier to female leadership?

The woman herself. Self-doubt or fear. Not realizing one’s

34• Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

potential and being afraid to step out of that comfort zone, which is where all the magic happens.

How do you overcome this barrier?

You find the only way is to take the initiative yourself and decide to embark on it, even if you still don’t know precisely how. The way to get through it is by drumming up support, building up a team, and finding the right help. That has been a huge theme in my life.

What woman inspired you growing up, and why?

Sayyida Khadijah. She managed her own business at a time when that was not a societal norm, while at the same time doing it in a very principled way.

What will be the biggest challenge for the generation of women behind you?

Throughout my generation, the challenge was really about putting our foot in the door, having more women represented in various sectors. Still, I hope the challenge for the next generation will be about dreaming big and doing tremendous things. It also occurred to me that one of the people who supported me enormously and helped me throughout key stages of my career was my mother. She was there for me whenever I needed to focus on a huge deadline and work through pressure. I think a significant number of the current new generation are working women, who are already juggling their work-home life with its own set of challenges, and may not be as availableto their kids as they prepare to launch their careers.

What’s a piece of advice you would give to young, aspiring women entering male-dominated fields?

They need to realize that they can do anything if they really set their minds to it, structure it, and plan it properly.

Nothing will hold them back. You will always meet resistance, and you need to find ways to get around it. Again, it’s about finding the support system. Some of that support is other women, some comes from family, and some comes from finding male champions within that same organization or industry. You must be able and willing to go the extra mile because you will have the added burden of proving yourself and overcoming the stereotypes or whatever negative perceptions may be there.

What’s one fact no one knows about you?

In the evening, I like to journal a little bit before bed just to review what happened in my day, the lessons learned, and what I’m grateful for. It helps set me up for a positive attitude the following day.

Cover Story

Abir Leheta Chairman and CEO, Egyptian Transport & Commercial Services Co. (Egytrans) Appointed in June 2015, Leheta is responsible for the development of strategic and structural opportunities to increase the resilience, agility, and growth of Egytrans. She has been with the company for more than 20 years, and before her appointment as chairman, she was chief strategy officer. Leheta holds a bachelor of science in computer science with a minor in business administration from the American University in Cairo. Leheta ranks 81 on the Forbes list.

Business Monthly - MARCH 2020 •

35

Cover Story

What's the best business decision you took in 2019?

I’ve taken some steps to improve the overall well-being of my team. I made sure to secure the approval to help us move to a new office that will fulfill our aspirations and improve our productivity. We should complete this move by June. Our new office will have lots of sunlight, free areas where the team can unwind, collaborate, and get together, as well as some recreation facilities.

Another critical business decision I’ve taken is to get more involved and support the government as it embarks on its digital transformation plans.

How do you motivate yourself ?

I get my energy from the people around me and my team. I’m always happy to sit with people who bring positive energy.

What would you do differently if you had to start over from scratch?

I would have taken faster steps at a younger age.

What woman inspires you, and why?

My mother. Her determination inspires me. Her confidence in the future warms my heart. She is never worried about the future. She is the one who taught me how to be confident.

What’s a typical day like for you?

My routine has changed since my new year’s resolution.

I hired a private fitness coach. I wake up at 6 am and head to the gym. I exercise for an hour now. Then I start my workday, meeting clients or going to the office. Due to the nature of our field, we finish work quite late on account of to participation in other events. So there isn’t much time afterward.

What was your dream job growing up?

To be a university professor.

What’s one of the toughest decisions you’ve had to make, and how did it impact your life?

Leaving my studies and starting all over again to study information technology. It's a reset button on all I learned. Looking back on it, mixing arts with technology helped me pay attention to details and present things differently.

36• Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

What do you think is the most significant barrier to female leadership?

We are getting buy-in from colleagues and bosses. As women in a tough field like IT, we used to work twice as hard, which is a very unnecessary challenge. Recently, companies have started changing. If we look at our company, we have a target to have 30 percent female leaders by 2022.

How did you overcome this barrier?

The first step is to think strategically, work harder, and focus on doing things in a different way to achieve quick, yet sustainable results while maintaining a confident and humble attitude.

What are the two most important traits for your position?

Having a vision and a sense of direction, as well as paying attention to details. Your team and your clients have to believe in your vision. You need to validate your path as you go periodically.

How do you succeed in a field known to be male-dominated?

By being raised in a family environment that was not dismissive of female success. It’s the attitude from within that can challenge a potential victory. You have to believe there should be no difference between males and females in the workplace to earn what you deserve.

What will be the challenge for future generations?

Competitiveness. But I think this is a challenge all would face, despite gender. Having a wide array of opportunities, access to the global markets, and technological advancement is all added pressure on the next generation. The social element is also slowly diminishing year by year from our youth, and I see this as a huge concern.

Everyone is on a phone, losing touch with real life. I am concerned that the next generation will find it hard to live in and enjoy the moment, which worries me a lot.

What’s one fact no one knows about you?

People may not know I was initially an architect. I even ranked second in my graduation class at the Faculty of Architecture, Alexandria University.

Cover Story

Hoda Mansour Managing Director, SAP Egypt Since Mansour was appointed in February 2018, the company has recorded its best performance ever. Egyptian-British Mansour is responsible for growth strategy, including sales, marketing, and operations in Egypt. Mansour holds a bachelor of science degree with distinction and honors in architecture engineering from Alexandria University, as well as a master of business administration with distinction from Maastricht School of Management. Mansour ranks 75 on the Forbes list.

Business Monthly - MARCH 2020 •

37

Cover Story

How do you maintain your energy and remain motivated?

It’s a very simple thing. I have a trick to work by goals and objectives that I set, work for and strive toward. As soon as I achieve the goal, I set another one.

What would you do differently if you had to start over from scratch?

Career-wise, I wouldn’t do anything differently. Maybe on a personal level, I might have made a couple of choices differently. But in the end, I always look at the cup as half full; whatever turned wrong I would turn into something positive. What you believe gets realized. Thinking that nothing is the end of the world is a major attribute not many people have. It keeps us young, fresh, motivated and alive. As long as it is not the end of the world, it can be fixed.

What would you say is the most important business decision you made in 2019?

Expanding into retail. We had an attempt before that didn’t work out. But I was determined to make it happen. We currently have a full-fledged retail banking proposition, we hired very aggressively and now have a full team launching new products. I get a lot of feedback from nonclients and friends who are not in the sector, which is a good indication we are on the right track.

What are the top qualities for your position or for that of a leader?

Leaders must realize they are not managers. They are not supposed to micromanage people. For me, what I found was most important is listening and analyzing what others say in order to challenge what doesn’t make sense and to accept what does. Followed by that is motivating and empowering people, which has worked tremendously in this bank.

What was your dream job growing up?

Believe it or not, I wanted to be a banker.

Did you have any tough decisions you had to make that impacted your life?

In a way, I’ve had a good life, but it wasn’t an easy one. I had to make a couple of tough decisions. I don’t regret them, but I understand now that maybe the choices could have been slightly more rational. I came out really learning to listen, not pretending to be a know-it-all because this is when you fail. This is what I do here, encouraging people to be vocal and express their opinions, and sometimes I even change my mind if I listen to something that makes more sense.

38• Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

What do you think is a significant barrier to female leadership in Egypt and how do you overcome it?

This is a really difficult question because I’ve never thought about this all my life. As a student, I was top of my class, the competition was always there. Even at university, AUC didn’t really have that bias, so when I went out into the workforce I was not really considering this. Looking back, there were instances of bias against me, but when you don’t really pay attention to it, it doesn’t irritate you.

Having said that, I think today is completely different.

There is more female representation and success in Egypt than in Europe. It is going to be a lot easier going forward.

Education has opened up and the sky's the limit.

Did you have any women role models growing up?

The first one was my mother. She was a housewife and never worked, but she was a really strong woman, a true leader.

She was one of 10 siblings. She was the least educated, and the most powerful. She helped her siblings make all their decisions and was a great support to my father as well. Her leadership, strength, charisma and social ability were enormous. Later on, I had a math teacher in high school who worked with so much passion and never asked for anything in return. She just wanted everyone to excel and truly made me love the subject. Growing up, it is very important that you have these strong figures to leave a mark in your life.

What are upcoming challenges for the generation coming after you?

There will always be challenges. I think one of the biggest is this generation has had things much easier, their appreciation for many things is not there. They want to start where everybody ended, which is not the right approach. I think the challenge will continue to be having the right partner who supports, understands and shares the responsibility, and this is not necessarily easy. Middle Eastern men are not as understanding and supportive, leading to many failures in marriages and people marrying later in life. I truly hope men will catch up with the pace at which women have grown and developed.

They need to accept that a woman can be successful and make it to the top. I personally have been blessed to have my husband, who is very supportive with my workload and responsibilities. He always pushes me forward.

What do you want to achieve next?

The honest answer is to enjoy my grandchildren. During my sabbatical, I thought I had achieved all I wanted and would have been happy to stop. Since I landed here, I really want to continue our success story. After I am done with my six years, I want to leave an institution that is among the top 10, then get to enjoy life a bit. I would like to stop working while I’m still healthy and can enjoy my family.

Cover Story

Mervat Sultan Chairperson, Export Development Bank of Egypt (EBE) Since Mervat Sultan was appointed as the first female chairperson in 2016, the bank has increased its assets to more than $3.2 billion and generated revenues of $138 million up to June 2019. Sultan began her career in 1983 at Egyptian Gulf Bank. Her term at EBE got renewed last year to end in November 2022. Sultan earned a bachelor of arts and an MBA in business administration at American University in Cairo, with the highest honors. Sultan ranks 60 on the Forbes list.

Business Monthly - MARCH 2020 •

39

Cover Story

How do you motivate yourself?

My motivation comes from the challenge. I hate the comfort zone. I get very motivated knowing that something is very difficult and still getting it done. I also get motivated by my team.

I love to see how they are developing and getting creative around the current work that we do in investment banking.

What’s the most important business decision you made in the past year?

Putting culture and environment at the forefront of my hiring and management decisions and thus building a family-like harmony in my team.

What are important job qualities for your position?

Emotional intelligence. We deal with different people in a process that tends to be frustrating. You have to be smart in dealing with pressure and creative in your solutions. Also, integrity and confidence. At the end of the day, you are working as an advisor. If you don’t earn people’s trust, you wouldn’t be able to do this job properly. If you don’t believe you will succeed in doing something, no one else is going to believe that you can do it. You have to have a winner’s attitude. Women have a set of unique characteristics that they can bring to the table. They are very practical, they are problem solvers, and they’re great at multitasking. All of these soft skills are very important for a leadership position.

What was your dream job growing up?

I wanted to be a genetic engineer. I was very much into biology as I looked up to my father, who is a doctor. I gave that up because I didn’t think I would like the lifestyle. Being the extroverted person I am, I didn’t want to be stuck in a lab.

What would you do differently if you had to start over from scratch?

I would travel more.

What kind of obstacles did you face throughout your career as a working woman?

People’s first impressions of me are always intriguing. As a

40• Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

woman who’s very young to be where I am, people’s first impressions are usually apprehensive toward the girl that’s coming into a meeting to boss them around.

How do you overcome this obstacle?

I tend to highlight being the odd person in the room. I highlight that uniqueness early on as it gives more credibility to how different and capable I am. I celebrate being a woman and being young. I don’t like to hide it or act as if I’m one of the guys. I’m here. I’m present, and for a reason.

What’s one of the toughest decisions you had to make?

I was at another company for 10 years. Leaving my old employer was a very tough decision. It was the right one as it got me completely outside of my comfort zone and got me to think from a very clean slate. I usually take things in a very positive way. If there is something I think it’s going to be difficult, it impacts me positively.

What woman inspires you, and why?

My school principal, Mrs. Magda Moussa. She was the epitome of a woman's perfection. She was very powerful, she had a demeanor of an inspiring leader and she was a lady. Also, my mom hugely inspires me every day; she’s a miracle of a human being. I wish I could be a fraction of the person she is.

What will be the biggest challenge for the generation of women behind you?

Self-doubt. Society usually doesn’t put us in enabling situations, so we have to have a drive from within to make what we want actually happen. Again, it’s having a winner’s attitude.

Technology also is making this generation very impatient. In real life, it takes a lot of hard work to get things done.

What’s one fact no one knows about you?

I love vanilla ice cream and I’m a dog mum.

Cover Story

Noha El Ghazaly Managing Director and Head of Investment Banking, Pharos Holding for Financial Investments With more than 10 years of financial services and investment banking experience, El Ghazaly joined Pharos Holding in May 2018. She previously served as executive director at HC Securities & Investment and as a board member at HC Brokerage. El Ghazaly studied at the Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University, and pursued her master’s at Edinburgh Business School of Heriot-Watt University. El Ghazaly ranks 92 on the Forbes list.

Business Monthly - MARCH 2020 •

41

Cover Story

What’s the most important business decision you’ve made in the past year?

Important business decisions are becoming part of our daily lives especially that we are always looking for innovative and new lines of business, but if I would point a single important or critical decision made recently, it would definitely point to the decision taken to publicly offer a part of TAQA Arabia in the Egyptian stock exchange market yet this is for sure not a single person’s decision.

What are the important job qualities of a female leader?

Being a good listener. You need to constantly be aware of all details happening in the company, how employees about their careers and the future of the company. The other most important job quality is being a good negotiator and knowing when to let go and when to fight for what you want and believe.

How do you motivate yourself and stay motivated?

To be honest, I am a kind of person who is always motivated, I am always looking for the future and thinking of how I improve myself in all aspects, not only the work environment but also as a mother as a colleague and as a partner.

You always need to love and have passion in what you do, and this will always keep you motivated.

What do you think is the most significant barrier to female leadership? How do you overcome it?

Stereotyping, especially in a developing country like Egypt.

People tend to stereotype women as less educated, less smart, less intelligent. These old stereotypes are very dangerous as they can brainwash young women to believe them. Nowadays, I believe these notions are slowly diminishing. Women hold positions as ministers, high-ranking judges and several other jobs that were always male dominated. I am very lucky to have worked in companies and organizations where the quality of work, not gender, is always what counts.

How did you overcome this barrier?

I believe that rejecting the stereotype and being more determined to give more and excel in what you do will always make you stand out and have peers respect you all along the way.

What’s the toughest decision you have to take as a CEO? I think tough decisions are normal decisions that you need to make except they are decisions you don’t want to make.

42• Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

The toughest decision is always when I have to lay off someone from the company. It still gets to me after all these years, because my decision is not just affecting one person but an entire family. Yet it’s a decision that needs to be taken for the benefit of the whole company.

What would you do differently if you had to start over from scratch?

Believe me, I wouldn’t want to change a thing. I’m thankful for my life and what I have accomplished in both my personal and professional lives. I would follow the same journey again, willingly.

What woman inspires you, and why?

My mother for sure is my utmost source of inspiration, she is always motivating and encouraging me all along the way.

She was a working woman that reached the position of under-secretary of the ministry of justice. I was only 19 when my father passed away and my mother had a huge role in shaping me into the strong woman I am today. She pushes me past my limits, supports me in challenging situations and believes in me. She always tells me ‘there’s nothing you cannot do.’ Her words keep me moving every day.

She's my backbone.

Describe one of your biggest failures.

What lessons did you learn?

I don’t believe in failures. When I make a mistake, I don't dwell on it. I understand why it happened, I learn, and move forward with a lesson learned. But when it comes to major life hardships, I tend to get stronger.

What will be the biggest challenge for the generation of women behind you?

Trying to perfect and excel at the multiple tasks they are solely responsible for. I think it is important to build a family with values of sharing tasks and responsibilities. In our culture, a man is responsible for his career only. This is a fatal mistake that burdens the entire family. If we raise our kids that sharing is caring, just like how we initially teach them in kindergarten and continue nurturing this value, women will not be stressed into managing a million responsibilities. By doing so, the entire family will excel together with love, because they are working hand in hand.

Teamwork in households is just as important as it is in the workplace.

What’s one fact no one knows about you?

I’m a certified experienced diver and a travel addict.

Cover Story

Pakinam Kafafi CEO, TAQA Arabia Since 2013, Kafafi has been CEO of TAQA Arabia, a leader in energy distribution across Egypt. With nearly 25 years of experience in the energy and investment banking sectors, Kafafi joined TAQA Arabia as chief investment officer in 2006. She led the group’s business diversification strategy into power generation and distribution and later orchestrated TAQA Arabia penetration into the renewable energy market. She graduated from the Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University, with a major in economics. Kafafi ranks 31 on the Forbes list.

Business Monthly - MARCH 2020 •

43

The Changing World

Sector under the microscope

Experts in Egypt are widely praising progress in the country s tourism sector. However, the latest Tourism and Travel Competitiveness Report shows the potential for critical problems.

By Tamer Hafez

T

ourism has been doing well in Egypt. By the end of last year, revenue from visitors reached all-time highs thanks to major reforms led by then Minister of Tourism Rania Al Mashat. The United Nations World Tourism Organization UNWTO forecasts that the number of tourists will increase from 13 million in 2019 to more than 15 million in 2020. That would be an all-time high, up from 11.336 million arrivals in 2018, according to Trading Economics.

44• Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

)The minister"s choice of strong international media partners ... had such a great impact on the rise of the number of visitors to Egypt,( says Moataz Sedky, co-chair of AmCham"s Travel & Tourism Committee. )Also, changing the old methods of promoting Egypt and relying instead on the direct impact of the people-to-people approach , such as high-profile social media influencers, had a dramatic effect on tourism.( Further fueling a rise in arrivals will

likely be global enthusiasm surrounding the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum. It will be )the largest museum in the world dedicated to a single civilization,( wrote Lindsey Galloway for the BBC in a January article titled )Why 2020 is the Year to Visit Cairo.( Sedky says the museum will be one of the top 12 tourist destinations in 2020. )Meanwhile, the number of travelers to Sharm El Sheikh should increase by 20 percent after the United Kingdom decision to lift its travel ban,( he says. )Also, Russia

The Changing World

“

Globally, Egypt was among the top 20 percent of countries in cultural resources, business travel and price competitiveness. It ranked in the top 40 percent in air transport infrastructure

�

will soon resume charter flights to Sinai for the first time since 2015.( However, the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report TTCR 2019, a biannual publication of the World Economic Forum, gives Egypt mixed scores. While cited as one of the most improved destinations, Egypt still ranks 65th out of 140 nations and scores near the bottom in openness to other countries. Addressing Egypt"s specific concerns as well as avoiding global issues such as overtourism would not only boost tourism but make it sustainable.

Measuring success

The TTCR report breaks down each country into four categories, each with a series of pillars.

The first category is creating an enabling environment, which )captures the general conditions necessary for operating in a country.( That category is related to the business of tourism, including business environment, safety and security, health and hygiene, human resources and ICT readiness.

The second category deals with government policies. It includes prioritizing travel and tourism, international

openness, price competitiveness and environmental stability.

The third tackles government infrastructure investments in air transport, ground and port infrastructure and tourist services.

The last category relates to the sights and resources of a country, including geographical location, history and attractiveness to business travelers.

Regional boom

According to TTCR, scores for 12 of the 15 MENA countries have improved since the 2017 report. )The region was able to slightly outpace the global average in competitiveness growth,( it said. )This is particularly important given that... travel and tourism accounts for a greater share of regional GDP than in any of the other four regions.( Despite that improvement and the importance of the sector to regional GDP, tourism still suffers from significant problems, according to TTCR. It noted that more needs to be done to protect heritage sites, for example. A weak digital presence promoting natural, cultural and entertainment activities )indicates potential gaps in marketing

and traveler perceptions,( said the report.

Meanwhile, tourists don"t rate the region highly due to perceptions of a lack of safety and security, and bureaucratic entrance procedures, noted the WEF report, adding that airline connections are limited compared to other regions.

On the plus side, price competitiveness has improved, )amplifying MENA"s single biggest advantage relative to the global average.( The report cited Egypt, Algeria, Iran and Tunisia as noticeably more affordable for tourists. )Reductions in ticket taxes and airport charges as well as lower hotel prices have primarily driven regional price competitiveness in recent years.( The TTCR noted the region as a whole has worked to improve tourism infrastructure, safety and security, and government support. However, the report said )world-class infrastructure remains concentrated among the Arab states of the Persian Gulf.( Lastly, the region is missing out by marginalizing the presence of women in the sector, which shrinks the labor and skills pool, as well as limits women-only services, said the report.

Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

•45

The Changing World: Tourism

improved airline connectivity, and better ground and port infrastructure.

Needs fixing

The TTCR, however, ranks Egypt in the bottom 40 percent in safety and security, health and hygiene, human resources and labor, tourist service infrastructure and ICT readiness. Meanwhile, the country is in the bottom 20 percent in international openness.

One major issue is safety and security, where Egypt ranks 112th out of 140 in the report, which cited )incidents of terrorism 135th . It remains one of Egypt"s most acute deterrents.( Other issues include tighter visa requirements, where Egypt"s rank went from 51 in 2017 to 123 in 2019. )That has not helped induce the flow of tourists, with the country remaining one of the least internationally open in the world,( wrote the report.

Long-term problem

Egypt’s rankings

For the past nine years, Egypt has focused on reviving tourism to its pre2011 heydays. Its lowest point was in 2016, when revenues were $3.8 billion just before the floating of the currency, according to the Central Bank.

However, mainly thanks to the ministry"s Egypt Tourism Program E-TRP

announced in 2018, tourism revenues in 2019 topped $12.57 billion compared to $12.5 billion in 2010.

Egypt"s rank increased from 74th in the 2017 report to 65th out of 140 countries. )It had the best improvement among countries ranked 36 to 70,( said the TTCR. It is currently ranked as the best tourist destination in Africa and fourth-best in MENA. That improvement, according to the TTCR, is because Egypt was the top scorer in MENA in the environmental sustainability, cultural resources and

46• Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

business travel pillars. It is also the most improved in safety and security, ground and port infrastructure, and natural resources.

Globally, Egypt was among the top 20 percent of countries in cultural resources, business travel and price competitiveness. It ranked in the top 40 percent in air transport infrastructure, environmental sustainability and government prioritization of the sector. In business environment, ground and port infrastructure, and natural resources, it ranked among the top 60 percent.

In its analysis, the TTCR report generally praised the government"s promotion of tourism. That includes the Grand Egyptian Museum and the EGP 50 billion budget to support tourism announced in December. Other notable improvements, according to the TTCR, are rising government spending on tourism, enhancing the country"s brand,

If the UNWTO"s forecasts are correct, Egypt is entering into uncharted territory serving 1.25 million visitors a month compared to 944,000 in 2018.

The TTCR recommends that governments work on all 14 pillars simultaneously. )The data suggests that a holistic, systems-led approach to tourism strategy is required to truly perform successfully on the global rankings.( One example is the natural assets pillar, for which Egypt is well-known. )The assets that this pillar measures cannot be bought or created,( said the report, )but if not managed well can be destroyed rapidly.( Overtourism could become an issue within a few years, assuming tourism continues to boom. )Luckily, overtourism is not yet in Egypt as much as in Europe, which usually results in antitourism,( says Sedky. That can prove to be a tricky situation.

On the one hand, the sector is vital for securing foreign currency and generating employment. )Addressing a growth of demand and strained capacity,( says Sedky, )is somewhat paradoxical.( n

Delightful Pan-Asian fusion at

First Nile Boat’s Nairu

The Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at The First Residence is the first of the renowned luxury chain’s properties to launch a floating culinary-lifestyle complex. The recently opened First Nile Boat features four restaurants, two lounges and two banquet rooms. Business Monthly sat down for lunch to sample the diverse delicacies of the Far East at Nairu, which has garnered significant attention in Egypt and indeed abroad, and it certainly lived up to its billing.

Opened in November, Nairu specializes in pan-Asian cuisine sourced from Malaysian, Chinese, Japanese and Indian traditions. Chef de Cuisine and Malaysia native, Muhammed Nazlan, heads up an exclusively expat and professionally trained kitchen staff as diverse as the delightful dishes served, which use exotic and authentic specialty ingredients from these four corners of Asia.

In addition to the restaurant, Nairu has a lounge area.

Both boast an elegantly appointed ultra-contemporary ambience that draws inspiration from Asiatic art and decor, to go along with chic and trendy furnishings with a touch of maritime influence, complementing an unobstructed Nile view amongst the best in the capital. The lounge also functions as a nightclub, offering live entertainment, a DJ, and high-tech visuals and lighting.

First Nile Boat epitomizes an evolving Four Seasons corporate strategy that focuses more on millennials.

Geared toward a clientele of young professionals with a more casual atmosphere and lower prices, it is fast

Nairu & Nairu

becoming a desirable spot for those seeking a luxurious Four Seasons experience without the stuffiness and steep expenses. Nonetheless, the service remains topnotch, while the presentation of dishes is on par with Egypt’s best restaurants.

The seating capacity of 75 sees the restaurant almost full on weekends, and it is an increasingly popular spot for lunch, drawing the patronage of local influencers and celebrities as well as hotel guests. The prime location in the heart of the city is one of First Nile Boat’s competitive advantages, second only to its reputed Four Seasons management.

Signature dishes were unanimously loved during our lunch. The Beef Bao Buns (EGP 160) consisted of unctuously tender charred beef brisket roasted for six hours and nestled inside pillow-soft encasings, and the Mongolian Beef (EGP 210) was a veritable rendition of the staple Asian dish. Other highlights included the tangy Crab Avocado (EGP 125) appetizer and Red Berry Lava Cake (EGP 95), a sumptuous chocolate fondant perfectly paired with green tea ice cream, which was on offer as a Valentine's Day special.

Nairu boasts a diverse menu with dim-sum, Indian, sushi and Japanese robatayaki (fire-grilled meat skewers) sections, as well as live cooking and preparation stations for robatayaki and sushi. If our experience at Nairu is anything to go by, once all venues are fully operational, First Nile Boat will surely sail to great heights.

First Nile Boat, Four Seasons Hotel at The First Residence • 136 Nile St., Giza Tel: +2 02 3567 1600 • Hours: 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. – 11 p.m.

At a Glance In Partnership with

Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) in Egypt FDI net inflows (USD bn) 15 10

Oil Sector FDIs (USD bn)

13.2 8.1

9.1

0

6.8

2.7

5

3.2

5.4

4.1

Non-Oil FDIs (USD bn)

3.6

2.2

3.8

4.1

3.9

2.8

-1.8

2.5 1.6

1.0

2.1

2.4 -0.2

6.4

6.9

4.7

5.2

1.7

1.7

7.9

7.7

3.9

3.2

4.0

4.5

Net FDI inflows* declined by 23.5% during FY 2018/19 to record USD 5.9 bn**, down from USD 7.7 bn in FY 2017/18 as total outflows rose from USD 5.4 bn to USD 7.7 bn despite the increase in total inflows from USD 13.2 bn to USD 13.7 bn.

5.9 2.3 3.6

-5

*Total inflows minus total outflows

**Later revised to USD 8.2 bn in accordance with a new methodology for compiling FDI and its earnings to include all undistributed realized earnings, pursuant to Prime Minister Decree No. 2732 of 2019. Earlier, data was restricted to reinvested earnings.

Source: Central Bank of Egypt (CBE)

Egypt’s “Doing Business 2020” ranking out of 190 countries (Lower = Better) Best 20%

Star�ng a Business

74

77

90

Compared to 64 in 2017

Compared to 88 in 2017

Ge�ng Credit

Dealing with Permits

57

67

Compared to 114 in 2017

Compared to 82 in 2017

Compared to 122 in 2017*

Middle Percen�le

Ge�ng Electricity

Protec�ng Minority Investors

Overall Rank

114

Best 40%

Worst 40%

Resolving Registering Insolvency Property

104

Compared to 39 in 2017

130

Compared to 109 in 2017

Compared to 109 in 2017

Worst 20%

Paying Taxes

Enforcing Contracts

Trading across Borders

156

166

171

Compared to 162 in 2017

Compared to 162 in 2017

Compared to 168 in 2017

Egypt still suffers from outstanding weaknesses in the business environment, on top of which are: (a) Trading across borders reflecting lengthy time and procedures to import, export or clear commodities across borders (b) Enforcing contracts reflecting lengthy time to resolve business disputes (c) Paying taxes reflecting high burden of tax payment, including total tax number of payments and time to pay taxes Source: World Bank ’Doing Business 2020’ Report whose data was current as of May 2019 *We took the “Doing Business 2017” report as a reference (2016 data) to illustrate the effect of the recent wave of reforms on the ease of doing business in Egypt.

Comparing to global FDI performance Global FDI Inflows Annual Growth Rate (%)

110%

World Developing Economies

60% 10%

2.2% -13.4% -26.7%

-40% 2014

2015

2016

Egypt’s Share in Global FDI Inflows (%)

Developed Economies

2017

2018

0.6% 0.5% 0.4% 0.3% 0.2% 0.1% 0.0%

0.34%

0.34%

2014

2015

0.42%

2016

0.49%

0.52%

2017

2018

Egypt remained the largest FDI recipient in Africa in 2019. Its share of global FDI inflows increased from 0.34% in 2015 to 0.52% in 2018.

Source: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), 2019

48• Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

At a Glance

FDI inflows by source country (%)

Sectoral breakdown of FDI inflows (%)

2018/19

Tourism, 0.6% Agriculture, 0.4% Communica�ons, 1.4% Others, 6.9% Financial Services, 3.3%

Real Estate, 6.0%

EU Countries

2018/19

Construc�on, 2.0% Manufacturing, 5.1%

Others

Oil, 74.3%

6.5%

7.3%

United States 11.9%

12.5% 8.4%

Belgium

2010/11

11.9%

16.6%

73.3%

45.8%

Arab Countries

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom represented almost 46% of total FDI inflows to Egypt in FY 2018/19.

FDI inflows to Egypt remain concentrated in the Oil sector (74.3% of total FDI inflows in 2018/19).

Source: Central Bank of Egypt (CBE)

Source: Central Bank of Egypt (CBE)

Comparing to other countries: FDI net inflows (% of GDP) 6.0% 5.0% 4.0% 3.0% 2.0% 1.0% 0.0%

0.5%

2.7% 3.1% 2.2% 2.5% 2.5% 2.1% 1.9% 1.7% 1.3% 1.5% 1.5%

3.9%

4.7%

5.6%

Egypt’s net FDI inflows to GDP ratio in 2018 was relatively high compared to selected emerging & developed countries.

Source: World Bank (Data as of 2018)

Free zones Under Egypt’s Investment Law No. 72 of 2017, privately-owned free zone projects are allowed again after their cancellation by virtue of the 2015 amendments. Projects in free zones are subject to fees of 2% of imported commodities for storage, 1% of exported commodities for manufacturing, or 1% of turnover for other activities.

1,095 Projects $12.5 bn Capital $26.3 bn Invest.

$2.15 bn FDIs

9 Current Free Zones

In the Pipeline

194k Jobs LE 17.3 bn Exports*

7 New Zones

1,000 Projects

120k New Jobs

*Exports in 2018 Source: Ministry of Investment & the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI)

Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

•49

MARKET WATCH Stock Analysis

T

Investors cash in on M&A action

he period from January 15 to February.15 saw both the main markets indices inch marginally higher.

The EGX 30 advanced 0.7 percent to 13,859.45, while the EGX 70 rose 0.9 percent to 538.04. Advances almost matched declines with average performances of plus 12.8 percent for the former and minus 6.4 percent for the latter.

That said, owning those two stocks at the start of the period would yield a monthly average return of 111 percent. Telecom Egypt ETEL and its 45-percent-owned Vodafone Egypt VODE rose 37.6 percent and 184.4 percent to EGP 13.03 and EGP 185.57, respectively. ETEL has seen its stock re-rate amid talk of Saudi STC looking to acquire Vodafone Group s 55 percent stake in VODE. This was believed to have triggered a mandatory tender offer for ETEL s 45 percent stake in VODE at a price higher than the valuation implied by ETEL s stock price.

Another acquisition story took Modern Co. for Water Proofing WATP by storm, ending the period up 70.8 percent at EGP 3.60. Sika Egypt offered to acquire 100 percent of WATP for EGP 3.95 a share, a premium of 202 percent above the stock price on January 8, the day before the announcement.

The list of star performers included Ismailia National Food Industries INFI , which surprised shareholders with news concerning its land in Ismailia that was marked as part of the city s plan residential or industrial use, thus raising the market value of the property. Similarly, Ismailia Misr Poultry ISMA saw its stock add 45.9 percent because it also has a plot in Ismailia. It is designated as agricultural, but speculators bid ISMA s stock price higher on the chance it might be re-designated.

Some bottom-fishers picked up shares of Export Development Bank of Egypt EXPA which rose 22.6 percent to EGP 9.59, still below its EGP 10 par value and EGP 17 book value. Also, Dice Sport & Casual Wear DSCW shares rose 20.7 percent to EGP 1.04, having settled export rebates worth EGP130 million due from the government.

Market participants will still be looking for positive catalysts to prop up share prices through the rest of the year.

The Central Bank of Egypt kept interest rates unchanged in February, with the next opportunity to cut rates in April.

Until then, bringing a high-profile IPO to the market Banque du Caire, for example might help bring in much needed fresh liquidity from foreign investors.

Telecom Egypt (ETEL)

50• Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

13.85

12.34

12.97

13.81

14.1

13.11

13.81 13.41

13.03

13.15 12.93

11.22

9.49

9.41

9.34

9.8

9.37

9.66

10.2 9.61

1/ 22 /2 0 1/ 24 /2 0 1/ 26 /2 0 1/ 28 /2 0 1/ 30 /2 0 2/ 1/ 20 2/ 3/ 20 2/ 5/ 20 2/ 7/ 20 2/ 9/ 20 2/ 11 /2 0 2/ 13 /2 0

9.42

1/ 16 /2 0 1/ 18 /2 0 1/ 20 /2 0

Telecom Egypt ETEL stock was mentioned in this section back in June 2015, almost five years ago, when the stock was trading at about the same level it was at the beginning of this period, at nearly EGP 10. However, this period saw the stock jump a whopping 37.6 percent to EGP 13.03. Trading 63 million shares worth EGP 812 million, the stock simply reflected positive investor sentiment after news of a potential sale of Vodafone Egypt VODE , 45 percent of which is owned by ETEL, to Saudi STC.

Capital Markets

Egyptian price indices - EGX 30 14105.86

14108.24 14009.32

13918.18

13773.73 13752.11

13824.16

13915.05

13918.84

13888.89

13762.84

13979.36

13987.16

13878.33

13859.45 13845.16

13721.45

13728.09 13620.58

0 /2 2/

11 2/

13

/2

0

20 2/

9/

20 2/

5/ 2/

2/

7/

20

20 3/

20 2/

1/

0 1/

30

/2

0 1/

28

/2 26 1/

/2

0

0 1/

24

/2

0 /2 1/

20

13639.69

22

0 /2

/2 18

1/

1/

1/

16

/2

0

0

13639.72

Egyptian price indices - EGX 70 1277.48

1276.5

1277.69 1274.45

1268.6

1269.39

1268.55 1269.36

1264.83

1262.93

1267.94

1265.49

1266.53

1268.14

1263.7 1258.15

1257.98 1257.42

1256.26

0 2/ 13 /2

20 1/ 2/ 1

20 2/ 9/

20 2/ 7/

20 2/ 5/

20 2/ 3/

20 2/ 1/

20 0/ 1/ 3

20 8/ 1/ 2

20 6/ 1/ 2

20 1/ 2

4/

20 2/

1/ 2

1248.69

1/ 2

20 0/

20 8/ 1/ 1

1/ 1

6/

20

1248.98

Egyptian price indices - NileX 597.44 588.29 560.12 543.52 541.55 525.62 514.63

517.44

573.61

557.67 547.54

559.33

545.99

555.29

552.79

545.9 533.05

533.22

519.02 510.62

0 2/

13

/2

0 /2 11 2/

20 9/ 2/

20 7/ 2/

20 5/ 2/

20 3/ 2/

20 1/ 2/

0 /2 30 1/

1/

28

/2

0

0 1/

26

/2

0 /2 24 1/

1/

22

/2

0

0 1/

20

/2

0 /2 18 1/

1/

16

/2

0

502.05

Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

•51

the

HIGH Life

New-age exercise: Workouts for the soul As dietary habits evolve toward physical wellness, a new culture around exercise prioritizes mental and emotional health.

By Adam Skaria

H

ealth conscientiousness and fitness have moved comfortably into the mainstream in developed nations and are picking up steam in the developing world, driven by the hyperconnectivity of young adults and increasingly by middleaged professionals and retirees.

Fitness as a pastime has evolved as new-age practices and conceptual workouts gain traction that could see them supplant more traditional exercises like playing sports or going to the gym.

While familiar workouts such as personal training, weights and hiking remain popular, modern fitness trends have broadened to encompass novel and tech-assisted forms of physical activity like high intensity interval training HIIT , yoga and meditation, and worksite health and well-being programs, to name a few.

There is already evidence of an exciting variety of new workout regimens gaining a foothold in Egypt as more people begin to take heed of these inventive and stimulating ways to stay healthy.

52• Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

Trending Up

The American College of Sports Medicine s ACSM Health and Fitness Journal, an annual worldwide survey, identified the top five fitness trends for 2020 as wearable tech, HIIT, group training, free-weight training and personal training. It also cited health and wellness coaching, functional fitness training, circuit training, body weight training and regimens targeting older adults, are among the top trends.

Dubbed by many industry insiders as workouts for the soul, a variety of emerging fitness programs create a space to tap into the emotional zone, where people can shift not only their physical energy, but more importantly their emotional energy, says Tevia Celli, director of education at CycleBar. CycleBar is a U.S. chain offering spinning classes with a focus on mental and physical empowerment, technologically advanced equipment and uplifting music-induced workout spaces. It s a form of active meditation at a time when people are hyper-focused on taking care of their emotional

The High Life

and spiritual selves just as much as their physical selves, so combining the two will be important, says Celli.

Fitness trends as we move into a new decade share a focus on one key attribute: convenience, according to Lucy Connor, content marketing executive and blogger at Glofox, a fitness and gym management software company.

New fitness studios, workout programs and classes show an increasing focus on flexibility in terms of providing a great experience that is both enjoyable and manageable.

Many call these new types of workouts boutique fitness, which Connor believes is changing the way the industry operates by attributing more significance to unique experiences, personalization and freedom.

Body, mind, soul

Yoga and other forms of meditation, HIIT, and health and wellness coaching stress the importance of mental wellbeing and fortitude to go along with physical conditioning.

Such forms of exercise constitute a major bloc of popular fitness trends.

HIIT typically involves short bursts of high-intensity exercise interspersed with brief periods of rest. Despite warnings about the potential for injuries, HIIT workouts are exploding in popularity, primarily among young people.

Yoga HIIT is an innovative hybrid regimen, like the yoga and pilates mash-up known as Yogalates or Aqua Zumba.

Yoga HIIT combines divergent workouts to burn calories and lengthen and strengthen muscles.

Millennials in motion

Things like holistic well-being aided by wearables FitBit, Apple Watch and Samsung s GearFit among others that allow users to track everything from exercise and sleep patterns to meditation has become a major segment of the global fitness market, especially among millennials and young adults.

Although the mix of workouts considered group training is not new, it is a form of exercise on the cusp of going to the next level in terms of its reach and scope. The social aspect of group training is its primary appeal, especially for millennials and Generation Z who constitute about 80 percent of gym users, according to the 2019 Les Mills Global Consumer Fitness Survey.

Group training targets four fitness levels, with instructors teaching and using many types of classes and equipment, from cardio-based sessions, spinning and cycling to dance-based workouts like Zumba and step aerobics.

Circuit training, which also placed in the top 20 global fitness trends in the ACSM survey, is typically a group of about 10 exercises completed in a predetermined sequence.

Each exercise is performed for a specific number of repetitions or a set time period before a quick rest and moving on to the next exercise.

Never too old

While youth and young adults largely determine the direction of fitness trends, there has been a considerable uptick in the popularity of exercise and fitness regimens intended for middle-aged and elderly people.

Many in those age groups prefer home workouts, as technology has transformed the way we can stay fit using techcentric gym equipment, intelligent rowing machines, weightlifting systems and AI personal training for example.

First and foremost, home workouts are convenient, which maximizes their appeal to older individuals navigating busy schedules and long commutes.

Business Monthly - MARCH 2020 •

53

The High Life

Functional training already has made an impact on the fitness market through CrossFit. Instead of how many kilograms can be lifted or reps completed or calories burned, functional training has begun to focus on technique.

This type of workout emphasizes balance, coordination and building strength in correct and sensible ways. Such fitness programs for older adults are among the top 10 trends as people live, work, and remain healthy and active longer .

Egypt’s Fitness Evolution

Recent research by the Global Wellness Institute GWI , a U.S. nonprofit, shows the wellness market is growing at a historic rate, nearly twice as fast as the global economy. This surge is certainly evident in Egypt through a variety of forward-thinking experts, classes and gyms that are transforming the way Egyptians approach fitness.

Consider BeFit, the full body fitness company founded by athlete Aly Mazhar in 2013. BeFit uses cutting-edge programs such as its signature six-week Transformation Challenge that covers strength, endurance, power, speed and agility using an eclectic mix of functional training. It is one of the leading concept gyms with six branches in the country.

Trainer, health coach and founder of B-URN, Amina Naguib introduced a new training method to the fitness

54• Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

scene in Egypt. It is a high-intensity, low-impact, 45-minute full body workout performed on the Megaformer a marketleading pilates and cardio apparatus and based on the Lagree Fitness Method.

Ignite has built a reputation as one of the country s leading performance training institutes. Its ATHLEAN cardio-based class is an imaginative new workout that incorporates all sorts of footwork. Participants complete a three-lap warm-up followed by footwork drills, jumping rope intervals and sprints, ending with 10 minutes of stretching.

Fitness studio Cyclopedia s approach to spinning utilizes four color zones throughout a one-hour session. These zones represent different combinations of resistance and speed, with the instructor assessing the performance of each participant by the color indicator on their machines.

The class combines HIIT and regular interval training, one of the first in Egypt to do so. Cyclopedia also provides other focused programs, including TRX Suspension Training, yoga and pilates.

Palestra is a fitness center that focuses exclusively on dancing as a way to stay fit. It offers various genres of music for dance classes ranging from hip-hop and jazz to Latin and Arabic. Classes follow an established technique and are led by instructors in the style of an aerobics class and have gotten rave reviews for being intense yet reasonably paced and fun. n

CHAMBER NEWS PRESIDENT Sherif Kamel,The American University in Cairo

VICE PRESIDENT, LEGAL AFFAIRS Girgis Abd El Shahid, Shahid Law Firm

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENTS Jeff Wedgwood, Apache Egypt Companies Dalia Wahba, CID Consulting

TREASURER Kamel Saleh, Saleh, Barsoum & Abdel Aziz – Deloitte

BOARD OF GOVERNORS

VICE PRESIDENT, MEMBERSHIP Amr Allam, H.A. Construction (H.A.C.) VICE PRESIDENT, PROGRAMS Khaled Abu Bakr, TAQA Arabia

COMMITTEE LEADERS

Healthcare Chair: Ahmed Ezzeldin, Cleopatra Hospital Group Co-Chair: Tamer Said, General Electric (GE) Healthcare

Agriculture and Food Security Chair: Abdel Hamid Demerdash, Agriculture Export Council Co-Chairs: Ahmet Ertürk, Soyven Hatem El Ezzawy, PICO Group



Ç

Entrepreneurship & Innovation (EIC) Co-Chairs: Hashem El Dandarawy, Team 4 Security Moataz Kotb, Cultark Mohamed Rahmy, Endeavor Egypt

International Cooperation Chair: Walid Labadi, IFC International Finance Corporation Co-Chairs: Denys Denya, African Export - Import Bank Khalid Hamza, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Investment and Capital Market Co-Chairs: Aladdin El-Afifi, Pharos Holding for Financial Investments Hazem Badran, CI Capital Holding Co. Karim Awad, EFG Hermes Holdings, SAE Omar El Labban, BPE Partners

Digital Transformation Co-Chairs: Hoda Mansour, SAP Reem Asaad, Raya Contact Center Wael Abdoush, IBM Education for Competitiveness Co-Chairs: Deena Boraie, The American University in Cairo Mohamed El Kalla, Cairo for Investment and Real Estate Development (CIRA) Shahinaz Ahmed, Amideast Egyptt

Pharmaceuticals Chair: Yousri Nawar, Pfizer Egypt Co-Chairs: Ramy Koussa, MSD Egypt Riad Armanious, EVA Pharma

Insurance Chair: Alaa El Zoheiry, gig - Egypt Co-Chairs: Axel Bromley, CHUBB (Formerly ACE Life Insurance Co. Egypt, SAE) Elena Butarova, MetLife, Life Insurance Company Sherif El Ghatrifi, Medmark Insurance Brokerage

Corporate Impact & Sustainability (CIS) Chair: Tamer Younes, Procter & Gamble Egypt, Ltd. Co-Chairs: Ghada Fouad, Mars North Africa and Levant Mireille Nessim, Takatof Association for Development Sarah El Battouty, ECOnsult

G

Legal Affairs Chair: Ahmed Abou Ali, Hassouna & Abou Ali Law Offices Co-Chairs: Mohamed Serry, Serry Law Office Said Hanafi, MHR & Partners in Association with White & Case Marketing Chair: Ahmed Rady, Coca-Cola Egypt – Atlantic Industries Co-Chairs: Dina Aly, Matter Nermeen Bedeir, TNS Riham El Sawy, Mindshare

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Sylvia Menassa

Oil & Gas Chair: Hesham El Amroussy, ExxonMobil Egypt, SAE Co-Chairs: Brian Essner, Noble Energy Egypt Colby Fuser, Halliburton Karim Badawi, Schlumberger Mark Konecki, Apache Egypt Companies

Industry & Trade Co-Chairs: Alaa Hashim, Giza Seeds and Herbs Ashraf Bakry, Unilever Mashreq Mohamed Shelbaya, PepsiCo Tamer Hamed, Procter & Gamble Egypt Ltd

Banking Chair: Ahmed Issa, Commercial International Bank (CIB) Co-Chairs: Akef El Maghraby, Banque Misr Dina Samaha, Citibank, NA Egypt

ADVISOR TO THE BOARD Hisham A. Fahmy

Non-Banking Financial Institutions Co-Chairs: Hassan Hussein, El Taamir Mortgage Finance - Aloula Mounir Nakhla, Tasaheel Tarek Azmy, Corporate Leasing Company Egypt (CORPLEASE)

HR (Talent Management) Chair: Emad Nasr, Lecico Egypt, SAE Co-Chairs: Ahmed Farid, Shell Egypt Maisa Galal, Arab Bank Nagla Kinawi, Vodafone Egypt Telecommunications, SAE

(July 2019 to June 2020)

Customs & Taxation Chair: Hassan Hegazi, Master Trading, SAE Co-Chair: Hossam Nasr, Allied for Accounting and Auditing Ernst & Young

MEMBERS OF THE BOARD Seif ElDin ElSadek, Agrocorp For Agriculture Investment Sherif El Kholy, ACTIS Soha Ali, J.P. Morgan Chase Bank Omar A. Mohanna, CHUBB Insurance Egypt Zaidun Jawdat, Bechtel Overseas Corporation

PAST PRESIDENT Tarek Zakaria Tawfik, Cairo Poultry Group

Power Chair: Khaled Hashem, Honeywell Egypt Co-Chairs: Ahmed Ramadan, General Electric International Operation Wael Hamdy, Elsewedy Electric Real Estate Chair: Mohamed Abdalla, Coldwell Banker Affiliates Of Middle East & Greater Africa Co-Chairs: Ahmed Shalaby, Tatweer Misr Magued Sherif, Six of October Development and Investment Co. (SODIC)

t

Transport and Logistics Chair: Marwan El Sammak, Worms Alexandria Cargo Services Co-Chairs: Ahmad Hammouda, Uber Egypt LLC Ahmed El Fangary, DHL Express Alfred Assil, Menarail Transport Consultants Tarek Fahmy, Mediterranean Shipping Company

J

Travel and Tourism Co-Chairs: Haitham Nassar, Hilton Worldwide Karim El Minabawy, Emeco Travel Moataz Sedky, Travco International Holding, SAE Nelly El Kateb, ASTRA Travel Sherifa Issa, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Egypt Women in Business Chair: Manal Hussein Abdel Razek, Orascom Development Co-Chair: Nahla Kamal, Nestlé Egypt

American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt – Tel: (20-2) 3333-6900 – Fax: (20-2) 3336-1050 For more information about AmCham services and news, please visit www.amcham.org.eg or our US mirror site www.amcham-egypt.org

Events

CUSTOMS AND TAXATION

Electronic tax filing workshop “Our mandate from the minister of finance and the president is to digitize the tax-filing process,” said Ragab Mahrous, general manager of the office of the Egyptian Tax Authority chairman, at a Customs and Taxation Committee meeting on February 5. “So far, only individuals have the option to file digitally or use paper applications. All corporations must file electronically in 2020.”

According to Mahrous, taxes account for 75 percent of government revenue. “This year, we are projecting EGP 858 billion from taxes,” he said. “And as the tax base expands and revenue increases, we need to digitize the process.”

However, not everything will change. Among the similarities with the outgoing process are deadlines. Individuals must file between January and March. Meanwhile, companies (listed or unlisted) have the option to file within four months after their respective fiscal year ends or between January and April. “The filing must be on time, or else it will not be processed,” said Mahrous. In that case, the penalty would be the Central Bank’s discount rate plus 2 percent of the amount owed. “However, companies and individuals can ask for a 60-day extension. But they must submit the request with reasons 15 days before the deadline,” he said.

Meanwhile, taxpayers can access their paperwork on the

Tax Authority website and correct mistakes. “However, every time the application entry changes, there will be a penalty, unless the taxpayer makes those corrections within a month of filing,” said Mahrous.

He explained that for individuals, there are two forms to fill out, and only one for people whose income is not taxed.

Companies, regardless of their legal stature or size, will fill out one of seven applications. “Four of them are specific to an industry. One is a general form linked to revenue deposited in a bank account. One is for income not deposited in a bank and a third if the company is making revenue from cars they own,” explained Mahrous.

After that introduction, Tharwat Abdel Baky, head of I.T. at the Tax Authority, went through the entire filing process for each application. n

SPECIAL RECEPTION

Event highlights opportunities in oil The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s U.S.-Egypt Business Council, along with the Egypt-U.S. Business Council and AmCham Egypt, hosted a special reception on February 10 at the Nile Ritz Carlton Hotel on the sidelines of the Egypt Petroleum Show. The event featured Steven Winberg, assistant secretary for fossil energy at the U.S. Department of Energy.

Steve Lutes, vice president of Middle East Affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, began by highlighting the strength of the relationship between Egypt and the United States.

AmCham Egypt President Sherif Kamel and U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Jonathan Cohen spoke about the ongoing commitment of the U.S. government toward advancing the

56• Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

interests of the private sector in developing the energy sector. Cohen reassured attendees about the promising prospects of increasing bilateral trade. John Christmann, chairman of the U.S.-Egypt Business Council, introduced Winberg.

In attendance was AmCham Egypt’s Board of Governors, industry leaders, AmCham committee leaders, corporate partners, and longstanding members. n

Events

HR (TALENT MANAGEMENT)

Planning for the next generation “Ninety-eight percent of companies believe leadership succession is important, but only 35 percent have the right plan in place,” said Nagla Kinawi, co-chair of AmCham’s HR (Talent Management) Committee, at a January 23 meeting on “Succession Planning: A Common Challenge in Organizations.” Joining her was Tamer Essam, vice president of human resources at Schneider Electric.

Matching the right person to the right future job can be difficult for any organization. All organizations try to eliminate as many variables as possible. However, nothing is 100 percent constant. Succession planning is the best way to prepare for the eventual loss of key players and preserve valuable assets to the company. Today, talent can be a scarce resource for businesses in the continually changing business environment. A company’s ability to attract, engage, mobilize, and develop employees’ talent is a critical competitive differentiator.

HR’s role in succession planning is to mobilize talent.

Succession plans enable companies to respond to gaps

and maintain continuity. HR should challenge future leaders both inside and outside the organization to identify and develop high-quality and diverse talent. In succession planning, an employee’s abilities, intelligence, growth potential, and progress are all taken into account.

By developing employees to become future successors, the business will likely continue to run smoothly and efficiently despite changing out key people or reassigning critical roles. “We need to focus on future roles. It’s a long process, which usually takes three to five years to fill in a vacancy from within,” said Essam. “Build the future workforce, create future pipelines using internal and external experts, do not focus only on internal expertise.” n

ENTREPRENEURSHIP & INNOVATION

Networking with the Kauffman Fellows AmCham’s Entrepreneurship & Innovation Committee (EIC) and Endeavor Egypt hosted an exclusive networking breakfast with Kauffman Fellows on February 15 at Andrea Restaurant in New Giza. The event was in honor of a delegation of 40 Kauffman Fellows visiting to learn more about Egypt’s startup and venture ecosystem.

Kauffman Fellows is a two-year educational, networking and leadership development program for venture capitalists to enable and grow entrepreneurial ecosystems throughout the world by leveraging the best minds and characteristics

of leading investors. The Kauffman Fellows network consists of more than 1,000 members from around the world.

The Kauffman Fellows visit was coordinated by “Elves,” a personal assistant service provider. n

Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

•57

Events

HR (TALENT MANAGEMENT)

Bridging the Skills Gap *Seventy-seven percent of companies report that a scarcity of people with key skills is the biggest threat to their business,+ said guest speaker Marco Serrato, board chairman of Global Consortium for University-Based Executive Education. Serrato was the guest speaker at a February 12 committee meeting on *Bridging the Skills Gap: Role of the Learning Economy.+ Turnover harms any organization, especially when replacing high-performing employees as it affects company revenue, productivity, and employee morale. Meanwhile, both the business environment and the learning environment need to evolve at a fast pace in the coming years to capitalize on rapid technological advancements.

An influential learning culture is a critical component of an overall healthy organization s culture. *Company culture has become so important that employees often make employment decisions based on it,+ said Serrato. Every organization, from small businesses to large corporations, has a culture based on the values and attitudes of employees. For organizations seeking to become more adaptable

and innovative, a culture transformation is essential. However, one of the biggest challenges an organization can face is changing the behavior of employees. *Lifelong learning is essential,+ said Serrato. Employers should recognize that formal education credentials are not the only way to identify and develop talent. Learning agility is, and will continue to be, one of the most desirable skills for current and potential employees. *Modern economies can be characterized as learning economies in which knowledge is a crucial resource and learning one of the most important processes,+ Serrato concluded. n

CORPORATE IMPACT AND SUSTAINABILITY

Navigating social development goals

The AmCham Corporate Impact and Sustainability Committee hosted its second mastery session, titled *Navigating the Social Development Goals in Egypt: People Development Opportunities and Challenges.+ The session focused on *people SDGs,+ such as no poverty, zero hunger, quality education, and gender equality, as well as decent work and economic growth goals. Nahla Zeitoun, a senior social protection specialist at the World Bank, explained the bank s two main goals: ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity.

To achieve those goals, the bank is investing in human capital through programs involving early childhood development, nutrition, healthcare, quality education, jobs, and skills. Also, the bank invests in resilience, which Zeitoun defined as the ability to cope with and manage a wide range of shocks and stresses. Finally, the bank invests in innovation, technology, and digital infrastructure.

58• Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

She stressed the three enablers for SDGs, which are adequate data, better financing, and effective localized implementation. Zeitoun discussed the growing momentum for the private sector to play a much more significant role in socially and environmentally responsible development.

A panel discussion followed with speakers from Mars Wrigley, Shell Egypt, and Ahl Masr Foundation. They explained their companies SDGs, the main challenges they encounter and how to overcome them, the role of partnerships incorporate agendas, and how they measure and monitor the impact of people-focused projects. n

Events

CORPORATE IMPACT AND SUSTAINABILITY

Challenges facing SDG implementation On January 27, the AmCham Corporate Impact and Sustainability Committee hosted its first Mastery Session on �Navigating the Sustainable Development Goals �SDGs� in Egypt: Issues & Constraints� on January 27 with guest speaker Randa Aboul-Hosn, resident representative of the U.N. Development Programme. A private-sector panel discussion followed with representatives of Care International, Danone, Juhayna, Procter & Gamble and L�Ore´al.

The committee�s mastery sessions aim to advocate policies that support Egypt�s sustainable development and advance responsible business practices.

Aboul-Hosn shared an enlightening presentation on the work of UNDP in Egypt, focusing on investing in women, improving governance, strengthening social protection, tackling poverty, ensuring no one is left behind, and natural resource management.

To ensure the achievement of these goals, she stressed the importance of capacity building, creating a robust ecosystem for policy analysis, cost, and management and evaluation.

Aboul-Hosn also spoke about development financing assessment and private sector financing.

A discussion on the role of the private sector followed, revolving around ways to incorporate the SDGs agenda and identify and overcome challenges. Lack of data, cultural resistance, and finding suitable partnerships are common hurdles cited by the panelists. n

ENTREPRENEURSHIP & INNOVATION

The great global shift in technology �We are living in the greatest time in world history,� said Chris Schroeder, co-founder of Next Billion Ventures and author of �Startup Rising � The Entrepreneurial Revolution Remaking the Middle East� at an AmCham event on February 6. �We are unleashing a new level of economic opportunity in ways our parents couldn�t believe possible.� That is all thanks to technological advances that open the door for innovations and ideas. �The smartphone has more computing power than NASA had to put a man on the moon in 1969,� said Schroeder. And while there may be incumbent challenges as well as new obstacles arising from the use of technology, �there are more people with more tools in history trying to solve those problems.� Those new technologies allow bottom-up problem-solving. �The people who are most affected by the problem are the ones who have the tools to solve it,� he said, adding that before technology became accessible, people solved problems in a top-down approach. �We would hear that the government wants to take people out of poverty. That means that they see �poor people� as the problem. In the bottomup approach, poor people are looking for technologies to unleash their capabilities. People are assets.�

However, there will always be a dark side to new technologies. �Planes were designed to help people travel long distances.

They do, but people now also use planes to used to bomb cities,� said Schroeder. Therefore, people must develop new technologies to reduce such downsides, he said.

Embracing new technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning is vital in developing solutions for problems such as climate change, disease, poverty, and food security.

Schroeder believes that the hottest new technology is access to this technology. �Billions of new customers appeared out of nowhere in the past few years, thanks to new technologies. Accessing them is affordable and on their terms,� he says. �It took Procter & Gamble 10 years and millions of dollars to find out that the French want a different type of soap. Netflix launched in hundreds of countries in 18 months.� n Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

•59

NEW MEMBERS

Consultancy

Investment

FosterEdge

Ekuity Holding

Hafez Hamdy Chairman & Managing Partner

Ashraf El Khatib Chief Investment Officer - Private Equity

Address: Village Gardens Katameya (VGK), Building 21, Flat 3 (Near Platinum Club), Fifth Settlement Website: www.fosteredge.com

Address: The Polygon SODIC Business Park, Building 8, Floor 4, SODIC West, Km 38 Cairo-Alexandria Desert Road, Membership Type Sheikh Zayed City Associate Resident Tel: (20-2) 3790-0023 Website: www.ekuity.com

Membership Type International/ Regional Non-Resident

Food & Beverages

Legal Services

Savola Foods Egypt- AFIA International Company

Riad, Saleh & Partners Law Firm Mohamed Saleh Founder & Managing Partner

Mahmoud Osman Chief Strategy Officer- SFC Address: 9 El Masanea Street, District 6, Nasr City Membership Type Tel: (20-2) 2381-8120/32/37/40 Associate Resident Fax: (20-2) 2381-8091 Website: www.savola.com

Industrial Machinery & Equipment Consukorra for Trade Agencies & Tech. Consultations

Noha Khater CEO & Co-Founder

Membership Type Associate Resident

Information Technology

Membership Type Associate Resident

Ayman El Deeb Area Cluster Head

Tarek Aboul Kassem Managing Director

60• Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

Address: 92 Tahrir Street, Saridar Medical Tower, Dokki Tel: (20-2) 3762-4276 Fax: (20-2) 3761-7706 Website: www.almouneer.com

Astellas

Global Technology Solutions – GTechS

Address: 2 Abou Hanefa Street, District 7, Nasr City Tel: (20-2) 2405-2984 Fax: (20-2) 2405-2982 Website: www.gtechs.me

Pharmaceuticals/Medical/Health Almouneer Medical Services

Mohamed Korra Chairman & CEO Address: 14 Alfy Street, Thawra Building, Downtown Tel: (20-2) 2787-1587 Fax: (20-2) 2786-9730 Website: www.korra-holding.com

Address: The Polygon Business Park, Building 6, SODIC West, Beverly Hills, Sheikh Zayed City, 6th of October Membership Type Tel: (20-2) 3865-3890 Associate Resident Fax: (20-2) 3865-3890

Address: 40 B Al Multaqa Al Araby Street, Masakan Sheraton, Heliopolis Tel: (20-2) 2268-0908/7 Membership Type Associate Resident

Membership Type International/Regional Non-Resident

NEW MEMBERS

Pharmaceuticals/Medical/Health

Hanee M. Samih Afia

The Egyptian Company for Cosmetics

Managing Director, International Company for Agricultural Production & Processing

Mohamed Salah Al-Din Group Chairman Address: 62 Makram Ebaid Street, Floor 3, Nasr City Tel: (20-2) 2274-9774

New Replacements in Member Companies

Omneya Kilany Membership Type Associate Resident

Senior Marcomms Manager, North Africa & Levant, Nielsen Egypt, Ltd.

Byron Alexander Church Vice President of Middle East & Africa, Environmental solutions

Category: General Sector: Financial Sector

Country CEO - Egypt, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB)

ARDIC for Real Estate Development & Investment

Haitham Sadek

Maged Salah CEO

Category: Multinational Sector: Food & Beverages

Danone Egypt Managing Director, Danone Egypt

Address: 19 Abd El Hamid Badawy Street, Nozha, Heliopolis Membership Type Tel: (20-2) 2180-4135 Associate Resident Fax: (20-2) 2180-4795 Website: www.ardic-development.com

Heike Harmgart

Category: Public & Diplomatic

Sector: Financial Sector Managing Director, Southern & Eastern Mediterranean, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

Mohamed Ibrahim Eid Ahmed El Tayebi Chairman Address: Building S1B, Third Administration Floor, Down Town Mall, 90 Street, Kattameya Tel: (20-2) 16170 Website: www.thelanddevelopers.com

Ahmed Khalil General Manager, Uber Egypt LLC

Jeff Wedgwood Membership Type Associate Resident

Chairman and CEO, Asea Brown Boveri SAE (ABB)

Category: General Sector: Information Technology Category: General Sector: Petroleum

VP, Egypt Region Operations & Apache

Loay Dajani

Industrial Development Group-IDG

Category: Associate Resident Sector: Power

Changes

Shady William Managing Director Address: North Extensions of Industrial Zones, 6th of October Website: www.idg-egypt.com

Category: Affiliate Sector: Financial Sector

Financial Controller & Deputy CFO, Banque Du Caire

The Land Developers

Category: Affiliate Sector: Consultancy

Category: Associate Resident Sector: Environment

Mohamed Abbas Fayed

Real Estate

Category: General Sector: Agriculture

Membership Category: Ahmed Abd El Latif El Shawarbi Membership Type Associate Resident

For any change to contact information, please contact the Membership Services Department at the Chamber’s office Tel: (20-2) 3333-6900, ext. 0016 • Fax: (20-2) 3336-1050 E-mail: membership@amcham.org.eg

Country Controller, COFCO Agri Egypt Trading Ltd. Category: Multinational • Sector: Agriculture

Hossam Dabous CEO and Egypt MU G.M, The Egyptian Company for Foods "BiscoMisr" Category: General • Sector: Food & Beverages

Sherif Ossama Egypt Country Manager, NCR Egypt Category: General • Sector: Information Technology

Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

•61

NEW MEMBERS

Affiliate Members Accounting Sameh Khalaf Assurance Partner, Allied for Accounting and Auditing - Ernst & Young

Automotive Sherif Tawadros Senior Vice President - Finance Operations GB Capital, Ghabbour Group

Chemicals Abdelsalam El Gabaly Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Abo Zaabel Fertilizers & Chemicals Co

Norhan El Gabaly Assistant Vice Chairman, Abo Zaabel Fertilizers & Chemicals Co

Construction/Engineering Ramy Karam Business Development Manager, Sodeco Group

Consultancy Nermine Fawzy Senior Partner, FosterEdge

Environment Mohamed Abo Zeid MEA Regional Operations Manager, Environmental Solutions

Ahmed Amer MEA Regional Financial Controller, Environmental Solutions

Financial Sector Karim Baghdady CEO, EFG Hermes Holdings, SAE

Ahmed Essam General Manager – Head of Financial Institutions, Société Arabe Internationale de Banque (SAIB)

Ayman Kamal Deputy Managing Director, Suez Canal Bank

Mohamed Lashin

Amr Thoria Head of IT, TBS - The Bakery Shop

Hania Serry GM, Wheat-Based Categories, Seafood & New Business, Savola Foods Egypt- AFIA International Company

Sherif Abdeen General Manager for Egypt Sugar Business, Savola Foods Egypt- AFIA International Company

Hospitality/Tourism Nirvana Maamoun Consultant, Astra Travel

Information Technology Nermeen Zaki Marketing Manager, Cisco Systems International

Hossam Salem CEO – Fawry FMCG, Fawry for Banking & Payment Technology Services

Wael Nosseir Finance Director, Xerox Egypt, S.A.E

Investment Moushera Maaraba Consultant, Catalyst Partners

Industrial Machinery & Equipment Ahmed El Awady CEO, Consukorra for Trade Agencies & Tech. Consultations

Legal Services Islam Hassan Partner, Matouk Bassiouny

Petroleum Sameh Saeb Marketing Director, Shell Lubricants Egypt

Pharmaceuticals/Medical/Health Alaa Asnan Digital Marketing Manager, The Egyptian Company for Cosmetics

Head of Large Corporate Banking Division, Banque Du Caire

Ahmed Abou El-Hamail

Richard Lelong Head of Commercial Banking, HSBC Bank Egypt, SAE

Real Estate Marwa Amr

Yasmine El Hini

Marketing Director, The Land Developers

Country Officer, IFC International Finance Corporation

Omar El Tayebi

Food & Beverages Khaled Soliman Engineering Manager, Coca-Cola Egypt - Atlantic Industries

62• Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

CEO, The Egyptian Company for Cosmetics

CDO, The Land Developers

Ashraf El Safoury Chief Commercial Officer, The Land Developers

MEMBER NEWS

BARON PALACE SAHL HASHEESH

Baron Palace Sahl Hasheesh received the Silver Customer Choice Award 2018/2019 and the Silver Best Food & Beverage 2018/2019 from the biggest Scandinavian (Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden) tour operator Apollo.

The awards were given based on Apollo’s customer reviews of a high score in the five-star category hotels in 2018/2019 and a high score in All Inclusive category in 2018/2019. The Palace also received the Quality Award 2019 from the biggest tour operator in Luxembourg, Luxair Tours, during the Luxair Vakanz 2020 event. The award was given based on Luxair’s observations and tracking of the customers’ satisfaction with the quality and services of the hotel.

IHG CAIRO CITYSTARS

The InterContinental Hotels Group Cairo Citystars won three awards recently. At the top of the list was the Front Runner Award. The award recognizes hotels that achieve or exceed a level of excellence in quality, guest satisfaction, colleagues’ feedback and revenue. It is awarded to qualifying hotels quarterly. The two other awards were the Commercial Excellence Award and Trailblazer Award, highlighting key areas of success and achievement by IHG Citystars team in keeping the hotels at the forefront in the hospitality and tourism industry.

CAIRO MARRIOTT HOTEL

The Cairo Marriott Hotel hosted El Nidaa Foundation’s 1st Gala Dinner in February. The event was held under the auspices of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly. Proceeds from the event went to El Nidaa Foundation project, which aims to support women in Upper Egypt. Attendees included Minister of International Cooperation, Rania Al-Mashat; Minister of Public Enterprise Sector, Hisham Tawfik; Minister of Social Solidarity, Nevine El-Kabbag and the Minister of Supply and Internal Trade, Ali Moselhi. Other attendees were Heba Handoussa, the Managing Director of El Nidaa Foundation. A number of celebrities were also in attendance.

TAKATOF ASSOCIATION FOR DEVELOPMENT

Japan’s Ambassador to Egypt and Dr. Ahmed Shawki, Takatof Association for Development’s Treasurer signed the third grant from the Japanese Grant Assistance to Takatof for improving the educational environment in two preschools in Imbaba, Giza. The grant will be utilized to upgrade KG Classrooms and to open one additional classroom in Omar Makram School in addition to setting up a whole new pre-school section in Madinet El Omal School which will be the first preschool in the district.

Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

•63

ANNOUNCEMENT

Jobs AMCHAM RECRUITMENT CENTER Code

Vacancies

Company Name

117402

Planning Manager

ABD Group

117412

Translation Manager

Protiviti

117408

Senior Marketing Communication Specialist

Miraco Carrier

117387

Project Manager

HitekNOFAL (High Technology Systems, Ltd.)

117433

Admin/Data Entry Officer

John Snow Inc.

117472

Consulting Manager, Marketing Communications

CID Consulting

For more information about these jobs and others, visit: www.amcham.org.eg/recruitment – e-mail: recruitment@amcham.org.eg, Tel: (20-2) 333 88 220 Ext. 1513 - 1514 Fax: (20-2) 333 73 779

Top Tenders

TOP TENDERS

FROM

TAS Bid bond Specs fees

Description

Client

Deadline

Five tenders for the supply of (a) distribution kiosks & ring type connection units, (b) different capacity electric transformers, (c) low voltage distribution switchboards, (d) medium voltage distribution switchboards, also (e) single phase electricity meters with prepayment option.

Upper Egypt Electricity [ Distribution ] Co., Sahara, Asswan

March 18, 2020

2,000,000 & 500,000 & 80,000 &75,000 & 660,000 LE LE 20,000 & 20,000 & 2,000 & 2,000 & 20,000

Design, supply, erection & commissioning of 4,500 M3/ day sanitary drainage water treatment discharge under for the P for R technology in Markaz El Gamaliyaat rural areas under the SRSSP program for Rural Areas in Markaz El Gamaliya. Tel. 050 - 2357872/ 2319531 or Fax. 050 - 2216562. Pre bid meeting 3/16/2020.

Potable Water & Sanitary Drainage Co. in Dakahliya, the Finance Dept., The Cashier

April 19, 2020

1,000,000 LE LE 9,120

Water & Waste-Water Equipment & Works Water & Waste Water

Two tenders for the supply & erection of (a) 3 centrifugal vertical pumps at Atlas booster pumping location serving Mostorod water treatment plant, also (b) rehabilitation/ revamping of Patterson filters and the (annexed) washing division at Road El Farag potable water station.

Potable Water Co. of Greater Cairo, Contracts & Purchases Dept.

March 24 & 26, 2020

95,000 & 540,000 LE LE 2,000 & 5,000

Water & Waste-Water Equipment & Works Water & Waste Water

Rehabilitation & consolidation of Higaza Drainage Canal & Syphon at Kilo 2.650 within Markaz Qous.

General Dept. for Upper Egypt Drainage Projects in Qena, The Cashier

March 18,, 2020

350,000 LE LE 599

Water & Waste-Water Equipment & Works Water & Waste Water

Beneficiary Sectors

Generating Sectors

www.amcham.org.eg/TAS

For further information, contact the Business Information Center at AmCham Egypt Tel: (20-2) 3338-1050 – Direct: (20-2) 3761-9641 • Fax: (20-2) 3338-9896 • E-mail: info@amcham.org.eg Website: www.amcham.org.eg • US Website: www.amcham-egypt.org

64• Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

Sectors Energy Energy

Media Lite

A Glance At The Press

I will give you some sedatives.

From your side, try to stay away from stress, and don’t look at electricity bills Al Masry Al Youm, February 13

Media Lite collates a selection of some the most entertaining offbeat and lighthearted news items published in the local press. All opinions and allegations belong solely to the original source publications and no attempt has been made to ascertain their veracity.

Tech-enabled health and fitness on the rise

The growing popularity of technology and digital devices is not lost on the Egyptian fitness industry with the introduction of apps like Tamreena and Well Fit GO!

Tamreena

Tamreena is a mobile application that serves as an online marketplace for personal trainers and gym enthusiasts launched their January by Barak Samir and Ibraheem Abo El Soud. It helps users to locate their training sites and trainers, and record the duration, date and time of the session. Clients can also compare biographies, ratings, reviews, and prices.

Tamreena began as a booking platform connecting clients with personal trainers and fitness educators while offering tips through linked social media accounts. It then started a businessto-business project that provides a trainer and club management system under the name Tamreena Technologies.

According to Samir, who has been working in the fitness industry for five years, new clients often complain about needing a gym membership to book personal training sessions, which is an added cost.

Tamreea is a straightforward, guaranteed way to book and pay for sessions and pay for personalized sessions. Not only is the experience customizable, but Tamreena prioritizes personal training services at affordable prices.

In the future, Tamreena.com hopes to open an online store

68• Business Monthly - MARCH 2020

that sells accessories and gym gear. Also in the pipeline is *T-News,+ a portal for information on local and international health and fitness trends and practices.

Well Fit GO!

The platform digitizes the weight loss experience by connecting users to a doctor and online coach. It is a massive market as a 2017 study in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that 19 million Egyptians are borderline obese.

Well Fit GO! provides tailored weekly diet plans, while coaching users incrementally toward a healthier lifestyle. Well Fit Go! focuses on tracking caloric intake or macronutrients, The platform coaches users on how to overcome mental barriers and psychological precepts when it comes to food.

For now, Well Fit GO! operates through Facebook Messenger.

Interested people fill out a questionnaire. And answers are sent to one of the app s health specialists, to create a tailored eating and exercise plans.

It also offers daily tips and special target challenges, such as water intake, nutrient consumption, and meal frequency and type to establish healthy habits one step at a time.

THE X7

THE PRESIDENT

When M performance meets X traits, prepare yourself for something truly majestic on every terrain. Make way for the biggest BMW ever built. The first-ever BMW X7 carries majestic SAV genes and adrenaline-rich authority. Technologies on-board exceed every definition of excellence. Be seated in the lap of luxury, with comfort features crafted to the highest of standards. A promise of performance and dynamic potential are easily delivered thanks to the BMW X7 M50i powerful 530 Hp, M Performance engine coupled with the Adaptive 2-Axle Air Suspension. For more info regarding the locally assembled X7, visit your nearest authorised dealer. Meet the X7, meet the president.

Call Center: 19269 www.bmw-eg.com