Saudi Investment Office to Open in Cairo This August

The Ministry of Investment’s General Authority for Free Zones and Investment (GAFI) will open an office to oversee Saudi investments into Egypt at their Cairo headquarters this August. The establishment of the office follows a meeting between the CEO of GAFI, Hossam Heiba, and the Saudi Minister of Investment, Khalid Al-Falih. GAFI is also planning to open similar offices for other countries with significant investments in Egypt.

The number of Egyptian companies established in Saudi Arabia has increased to 4,000. Additionally, Saudi Arabia plans to convert its USD 10 billion deposits in the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) into investments, with USD 5.3 billion reimbursable by October 2026.

As of November 2023, Saudi investments in Egypt amounted to USD 6.3 billion across 7,444 projects in various sectors, including industry, construction, tourism, services, and telecommunications. Furthermore, Egyptian companies secured a 30%share of investment licenses issued by the Saudi Ministry of Investment in the first quarter of this year, capturing 950 out of 3,157 licenses.

Egypt and Saudi Arabia are currently negotiating an agreement to encourage and protect investments, with the goal of finalizing it before the end of August. This bilateral agreement aims to facilitate and secure investments between both countries.