About Economy

Dear Investor,

Perhaps you're looking to outsource your manufacturing operation or to offshore your back-office or customer-support func­tions. Maybe you're a grower looking to take advantage of fertile soil, year-round growing seasons and close proximity to key markets. Perhaps you're searching for a regional hub from which to export duty-free to some of the globe's largest economies, including Europe, Africa and the Arab world. Or maybe you want to access the largest and most diverse consumer base in the Middle East and North Africa.

If so, there's no better place in the MENA region to do business than Egypt, which today stands as one of the world's most vibrant and reform-oriented economies. As business leaders and global financial institutions now know, we are blessed with a wealth of compet­itive advantages including a large, competitively priced and educated labor force; a highly competitive tax regime; a thriving, fast-growing domestic market; favorable raw material and energy prices; close proximity to major global markets; an interlocking web of preferential trade agreements; and a pro-business government committed to keeping Egypt on the path of sustainable growth. That growth and the factors underlying our prosperity are well anchored in a policy environment in which the rule of law and institutions prevails.

Leaf through this booklet and you will see the facts speak for themselves. You will learn about a nation that topped its own record of 7.1% GDP growth set in 2006/07 by surging ahead 7.5% in the first half of 2007/08. And you will learn about a politically stable, business-friendly nation that has captured the imagination of global business leaders who poured more than USS 1 I.I billion in for­eign direct investment into the country in 2006/07 — and another USS 7.8 billion in the first half of 2007/08. Little wonder, then, that Egypt is the top recipient of FDT in Africa and second most-popular destination for foreign capital in the Arab world.

Do not take our word for it: These fundamentals are why the World Bank and IFC Doing Business 2008 report has declared Egypt the world's top reformer.

As we go forward, this government will continue to do what we can at the policy level to encourage growth and development, knowing that the private citizens and corporations who are reviving Egypt's ages-old culture of entrepreneurship and competition will do the rest. Together, we will create opportunities for all Egyptians and unleash the vast potential of our young population.

 Welcome to Egypt.

 Mahmoud Mohieldin Minister of Investment May 2008