Simplify, simplify

A new portal was launched this week with the aim of attracting investments to Egypt. Wael Gamal reports

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"No longer will you have to stand in lines to get your papers done. No longer must you visit 25 different governmental institutions to start your business. Now, we present our one-stop shop, an investment portal giving you the ability to make use of all the services offered by the Ministry of Investment and its affiliated entities. Adding to that, we offer a wide variety of non- governmental financial services. Surf, and contact us with any comments or complaints." Thus reads the introduction to the new online portal, which was launched by the Ministry of Investment early this week as part of the e- government initiative between the government and Microsoft Egypt.

Attended by the prime minister and the ministers of investment and CIT, the launch took place just before Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates met representatives of the political and economic elite of the country. The portal is aimed at attracting foreign investors and also augments the cooperation between Microsoft and the Egyptian government in their common goal of expanding economic opportunities in Egypt through technology.

"It is of great significance as it is a major step towards showing how Egypt is open for business. It demonstrates the transparency and credibility of the government to provide key information sought by investors, with regards to investments in Egypt," observed Karim Ramadan, the general manager of Microsoft Egypt.

Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohieddin emphasised similar points. "The portal is a reflection of our strong belief in providing accurate and up-to-date information of economic developments and making it available for everyone. The availability of information is no longer a privilege to be given or taken away. We are now adopting a new concept in providing information through the interaction with all the users and visitors of the portal. It is a two-way path." The Egyptian economy has long suffered from a lack of accurate economic information and statistics. At the present time, the Egyptian government does not have a reliable, precise estimate of foreign direct investment flows to the country, though the Ministry of Investment is working jointly with an international institution to solve this problem.

Imperfect information hits hard at the efficiency of the market economy. It allows an opening for insider information, hinders fair competition and opens the door for corruption. The new Egyptian government seems to be tackling this deficiency as demonstrated by the recent development of the Information and Decision Support Portal and the issuance of a quarterly bulletin in cooperation with representatives of various ministries and institutions to provide uniform national data. "This is just the start of an important initiative, which capitalises on information technology," said Mohieddin.

The new portal targets both local and foreign investors but it is obvious that the focus is on international and foreign investors, going along with the general framework of the reform package. The picture on the home page of the portal, with the slogan "Reasons for success", also features only apparently multi-national investors.

Aiming at placing Egypt on the world investment map, the portal includes information about the newly created ministry, the investment authority, projects offered for privatisation, potential investment laws and how to set up businesses in Egypt. Its coverage reflects the wide range of affiliated authorities and agencies divided into the three main sectors under the ministry's responsibility namely investment, management of state-owned assets, and assorted non-bank financial services such as the capital market, insurance, mortgage finance and financial leasing.