Saudi investors willing to take part in Egypt's Sovereign Fund: Min.

CAIRO – 9 December 2019: Egypt's Minister of Planning Hala al-Saeed on Sunday said that the structure of the Egyptian sovereign fund was being finalized, and that meetings were currently being held with a number of Saudi investors, who expressed their desire to participate in the fund.

The investors are members of the Saudi Egyptian Business Council, Saeed noted. Similar meetings are set to be held with Emirati investors as well, she added.

This came in a meeting with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli; Yehia Zaki, chairman of the Suez Canal Economic Zone Authority; Ayman Soliman, and the executive director of Egypt's Sovereign Wealth Fund.

The Minister revealed a decision to establish a number of sub-funds affiliated to the Sovereign Fund, in order to invest in a number of sectors, including a fund for renewable energy.

For his part, Soliman said that a number of meetings were held on the sidelines of the Investment for Africa Forum held earlier, affirming a consensus that Egypt was the first destination for investment in Africa in various sectors.

Soliman, who was named as the executive director of Sovereign Wealth Fund in October, earlier expressed hope to secure partnership with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman on the fund.

That came only few days after Egypt and the UAE announced establishing a new joint strategic platform, with total investment of $20 billion, through the Abu Dhabi Development Holding Company and Egypt’s Sovereign Wealth Fund.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Soliman said the desired partnership could take many forms, including the establishment of investment funds and platforms.

Soliman said the negotiations with Oman, in this regard, have reached much progressed stage, adding that they could be completed by the end of this year. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait also have the desire to invest in Egypt, Soliman asserted.

Referring to the platform reached with the Abu Dhabi Development Holding Company earlier in November, Soliman said that Egypt was willing to reach similar partnerships with the three Arab states.

The strategic platform was announced during President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s visit to the UAE, during which he met with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed.

The partnership aims to establish strategic joint ventures, specialized funds or investment instruments, to invest in several sectors, most notably manufacturing, traditional and renewable energy, technology, food and real estate, tourism, healthcare, logistics, financial services, infrastructure and others, presidential spokesman Bassam Radi added.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed announced the establishment of the platform on his Twitter account.

"Together with my brother, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi we launched a joint strategic investment platform between the UAE and Egypt worth $20 billion to implement vital economic and social projects for our brotherly countries," Mohamed bin Zayed wrote.