Cairo // Hisham Qandil, Egypt's prime minister, this week tried to convince more than 100 American business executives investing in his burgeoning economy was a safer bet than dealing with the notorious tourist scams at the Great Pyramids of Giza.
"You won't have to pay 5 [Egyptian] pounds [Dh3.02] to get on a camel and then 50 pounds to get off, " he said with a broad grin.
Mr Qandil sought to reassure the biggest ever business delegation to Cairo "Egypt is open for business" ahead of the president Mohamed Morsi's planned visit to Washington this month.
The US delegation, which represents regional chief executives of US companies including Coca-Cola, General Motors and ExxonMobil, is in Cairo this week in an effort to revive Egypt's flagging investments and boost confidence in the economy.
Mr Qandil said he was working on finalising an economic plan that would phase out wasteful subsidies, adding he expected the economy to grow in the current financial year by 3 to 4 per cent, or more if investment goals are achieved, Reuters reported.
He also said the plan was to cut 1 percentage point off the country's budget deficit, which is already equivalent to about 8 per cent of Egypt's GDP, Reuters reported.
The unusually large US-led turn-out comes as the United States and Egypt negotiate the terms of writing off US$1 billion (Dh3.67bn) of debt. The US is also keen for Egypt to finally secure an agreement with the IMF for a $4.8bn loan package, after more than a year of dithering.
Michael Froman, the deputy assistant to the US president Barack Obama and the deputy national security adviser for international economic affairs, was also speaking to the delegation in Cairo this week. He said it was "critical that Egypt designs a reform package the IMF can support".
Political disagreements have delayed the signing of a loan and the IMF has insisted it needs broad political backing before any agreement is signed. Egypt's economy has struggled to recover from more than a year and a half of political turmoil as foreign investors and tourists, two of the country's main sources of foreign currency, fled after the uprising that toppled then president Hosni Mubarak.
Foreign direct investment fell to $218 million in the nine months that ended in March compared with $2.1bn a year earlier, according to Egypt's central bank. Tourism revenue also slumped 18 per cent to $7.1bn during July last year and March. Analysts and investors had expected economic revival to come hand-in-hand with political stability once Mr Morsi was sworn in as the president and a cabinet was in place under Mr Qandil.
However, no official economic policy has been announced yet and budget-draining initiatives including subsidies that soak up up to a third of the budget are still in force despite promises to the contrary.
The nation is still grappling with labour unrest, too, with demands for improved social welfare ringing throughout the country.
Executives arriving in Cairo over the weekend managed to dodge a labour strike by employees of Egypt Air, the country's national carrier.
Despite the air of uncertainty, the US visit this week was generally regarded as a positive step for the country.
"The size of the meeting was decided by the visitors and represents the scale of interest in Egypt," said Emad Mostaque, a strategist at Religare Noah, an emerging-markets investment bank based in London.
"I think Qandil did a good job and I hope he sticks with his promises."
business@thenational.ae
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
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Shower or bath after being outside.
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Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
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Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
German intelligence warnings
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Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
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THE BIO
Favourite author - Paulo Coelho
Favourite holiday destination - Cuba
New York Times or Jordan Times? NYT is a school and JT was my practice field
Role model - My Grandfather
Dream interviewee - Che Guevara
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Guide to intelligent investing
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Veere di Wedding
Dir: Shashanka Ghosh
Starring: Kareena Kapoo-Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania
Verdict: 4 Stars
What is an ETF?
An exchange traded fund is a type of investment fund that can be traded quickly and easily, just like stocks and shares. They come with no upfront costs aside from your brokerage's dealing charges and annual fees, which are far lower than on traditional mutual investment funds. Charges are as low as 0.03 per cent on one of the very cheapest (and most popular), Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, with the maximum around 0.75 per cent.
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