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Al-Ahram Weekly 16 - 22 December 1999 Issue No. 460 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 16 - 22 December 1999 Issue No. 460
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Debate Focus Profile Living Travel Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters No more laissez faire
By Shaimaa LabibFrench officials participated in a one-day seminar last week intended to assist Egyptian private companies in penetrating the French market and establishing business partnership agreements in France. The seminar -- How to do business with France? -- was organised by the European Commission-funded European Information Correspondence Centre, (EICC), in cooperation with the French Embassy in Cairo.
"The increased number of visits by Egyptian and French officials and businessmen to and from both countries to discuss possible investment opportunities and trade agreements is an indicator of the increased cooperation between Egypt and France," said Nicolas Galey, Chargé d'Affaires at the French Embassy. He cited the success of the Egyptian privatisation programme and increased activity by Egyptian non-governmental organisations as major reasons behind the new trade programme strategy adopted by the French authorities. "The decision to choose Egypt to host France Expo '99, the biggest trade fair France has ever organised in the Middle East, was due to its success in enhancing its economic growth over recent years. Attended by more than 250 French companies, the fair provided French businessmen with the opportunity to meet with their Egyptian counterparts to discuss ways of enhancing economic collaboration between the two countries," Galey said.
The French government offers a wide range of incentives to French companies operating in Egypt, according to Yves de Ricaud, economic and commercial counsellor at the French Embassy in Cairo: "In the field of financial investments, we have initiated a debt equity conversion programme that converts Egyptian debts to France into French investments in Egypt. French companies wanting to invest in Egypt can go to the French Treasury to buy a portion of this debt. They then convert the debt into Egyptian pounds at the Central Bank of Egypt and use it to invest in the Egyptian market." Under this programme, agreed last May during French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin's visit to Egypt, France will convert around 300 million francs -- $50 million -- of debt into investments to finance agricultural, social and environmental projects.
The French authorities have also commissioned consultancy and preparatory studies of larger projects in both the public and private sectors. "We engage in these activities to help both the Egyptian authorities and private companies to execute these projects and to support French companies who wish to become associated with such projects," de Ricaud said.
French companies operating in Egypt have tended to concentrate investments in the transportation, power and telecommunications sectors, and to a lessor extent in water supply, cement and iron production. Companies operating in these areas were allocated 300 million francs by the French government at the beginning of 1999 as a hedge against the commercial and investment risks faced in the Egyptian market. French facilities are not limited to providing financial services to French companies operating in Egypt, but include the promotion of Egyptian exports in the European markets via Promosalon, an organisation specialised in promoting international fairs and operated in Egypt by the economic and commercial section of the French Embassy. According to the French deputy economic and commercial counsellor Jean Louis Poli, "our Promosalon office in Cairo aims at informing Egyptian businessmen of international exhibitions and trade shows taking place in France and potential opportunities for conducting business. We also provide Egyptian companies with detailed information about how to better exhibit in these shows to promote their products". Poli stressed the importance of Egyptian exports conforming with European standards: "A lot of technological symposiums are conducted in France as well as in Egypt with the objective of increasing Egypt's export capability."
Participants in the seminar agreed that the absence of reliable information concerning business opportunities on both sides presented an impediment to increasing business. "Though we help in providing the Egyptian business community with reliable business information about the European Community in general," said Noha El-Sayed, EICC manager. She added that EICC, inaugurated in Cairo last year, "organises business missions to and from Egypt to provide Egyptian businessmen an opportunity to meet with their European counterparts to discuss possible investment opportunities".
The Egyptian-French business association also plays a role in providing Egyptian and French members with information. "We provide legal and business information concerning investment opportunities in both countries to our Egyptian and French members to help them form business partners," said Atef Mukhtar, director general of Club d'Affaires Franco Egyptien (CAFE), founded in 1992 to develop Egyptian-French bilateral trade relations. "Last year we organised an Egyptian mission to France comprising 150 businessmen, providing them with an opportunity to meet their French counterparts and get acquainted with the business opportunities available in the French market. We also recruit local bilingual personnel seeking employment opportunities in Egyptian as well as French companies," Mukhtar said.
In 1998, France was the third largest exporter to Egypt, after the US and Germany. Egyptian exports to France amounted to 1.2 billion French francs, while imports stood at 8.7 billion French francs.
