PHOTO
Samih Sawiris, one of Egypt’s richest people, whose fortune was estimated by Forbes in 2015 at $850 million. Image supplied by Samih Sawiris' office.
07 November 2016
By Yasmine Saleh
On June 30, 2014, on the anniversary of an Egyptian mass protest that ousted an Islamist president and brought an army leader to power, Samih Sawiris, one of the country’s most prominent businessmen, was among those to publicly express concern for Egypt’s future.
Sawiris had then criticised a government crackdown on political opponents, calling it “oppression of innocents”, and said he would not invest any more of his money in the country until he saw evidence of some changes that would encourage and protect investors.
Now, after Egypt’s central bank announced the floatation of the Egyptian pound on Thursday, Sawiris said he is starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel for the Arab world’s most populous country, five years after the revolution that toppled President Hosni Mubarak.
“Now I will try to look at the half full part of the glass rather than the half empty one, and say that since finally the currency will be valued for its real value according to the market, I think we will start to be moving in the right direction,” Sawiris told Zawya in a phone interview on Friday.
“It is very smart, the fact that they did this now. But I would have loved to see it happening a few years ago. It would have been much easier and cheaper for the central bank.”
The central bank’s move to float the currency is aimed at shutting down a black market and finalising a $12 billion three-year loan from the International Monetary Fund. From Sunday, the rate will be determined by banks trading through the interbank system.
Egypt's blue chip equities index surged on Thursday after the central bank announcement and the government’s move to cut fuel subsidies. The pound value against the dollar went up from 8.8 to as high as 15.75 on Thursday after the central bank’s decision.
Sawiris said it is still too early to say that the currency issue has been totally resolved. “We still have a currency issue and a conversion issue and this makes a feasibility study impossible to perform. But, I think we will see a few years of more serious investments coming to Egypt,” he said.
“There are huge opportunities that have piled up over the past years, and now that we will have a proper currency valuation, I think we will be looking to see an era of real investments. Maybe not today, because of the current situation of the currency, but in a while when the market stabilises.”
Egypt has been dealing with shrinking foreign exchange reserves and has been struggling to revive its economy since the 2011 uprising. The vital tourism sector has been hit by political instability, which has also driven away foreign investors.
Timing was smart
Sawiris, one of Egypt’s richest people, whose fortune was estimated by Forbes in 2015 at $850 million, has not said much about Egypt’s economy, the Arab world’s third largest, since 2014.
“I am trying not to be controversial all the time, and there wasn’t anything happening substantially in Egypt. It is only this week we started seeing some kind of action,” he said.
“Had they announced the devaluation then (back in 2014), 90 percent of the so-called investment’s interest and momentums would have turned into proper projects by now, but, in the absence of a currency value, people were of course afraid to put money.”
Sawiris hails from a prominent Egyptian family which controls the sprawling Orascom corporate empire. He owns Swiss-based Orascom Development Holding, which runs tourist resorts, travel agencies and real estate projects in 10 countries, including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Jordon, Morocco, Turkey, Germany, Spain, Montenegro and Switzerland.
The businessman said he has not yet figured how much he is willing to invest in Egypt, but that his company will continue with affordable housing projects in Cairo and other Egyptian cities. He said one Orascom project to build 1,000 new schools in Egypt has faced difficulty after the government decided to scrap the project and restart the tendering process.
When asked about his company’s plans for the coming year, Sawiris said he “will go whenever there is an opportunity”, but did not elaborate. Whatever his strategy, as Sawiris approaches his sixtieth milestone birthday he is certainly more upbeat about the prospects for his birthplace.
“People should understand that the pain they are going through now will result in fantastic opportunities to everybody. There will be more jobs and better living conditions.”
© Zawya 2016
By Yasmine Saleh
On June 30, 2014, on the anniversary of an Egyptian mass protest that ousted an Islamist president and brought an army leader to power, Samih Sawiris, one of the country’s most prominent businessmen, was among those to publicly express concern for Egypt’s future.
Sawiris had then criticised a government crackdown on political opponents, calling it “oppression of innocents”, and said he would not invest any more of his money in the country until he saw evidence of some changes that would encourage and protect investors.
Now, after Egypt’s central bank announced the floatation of the Egyptian pound on Thursday, Sawiris said he is starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel for the Arab world’s most populous country, five years after the revolution that toppled President Hosni Mubarak.
“Now I will try to look at the half full part of the glass rather than the half empty one, and say that since finally the currency will be valued for its real value according to the market, I think we will start to be moving in the right direction,” Sawiris told Zawya in a phone interview on Friday.
“It is very smart, the fact that they did this now. But I would have loved to see it happening a few years ago. It would have been much easier and cheaper for the central bank.”
The central bank’s move to float the currency is aimed at shutting down a black market and finalising a $12 billion three-year loan from the International Monetary Fund. From Sunday, the rate will be determined by banks trading through the interbank system.
Egypt's blue chip equities index surged on Thursday after the central bank announcement and the government’s move to cut fuel subsidies. The pound value against the dollar went up from 8.8 to as high as 15.75 on Thursday after the central bank’s decision.
Sawiris said it is still too early to say that the currency issue has been totally resolved. “We still have a currency issue and a conversion issue and this makes a feasibility study impossible to perform. But, I think we will see a few years of more serious investments coming to Egypt,” he said.
“There are huge opportunities that have piled up over the past years, and now that we will have a proper currency valuation, I think we will be looking to see an era of real investments. Maybe not today, because of the current situation of the currency, but in a while when the market stabilises.”
Egypt has been dealing with shrinking foreign exchange reserves and has been struggling to revive its economy since the 2011 uprising. The vital tourism sector has been hit by political instability, which has also driven away foreign investors.
Timing was smart
Sawiris, one of Egypt’s richest people, whose fortune was estimated by Forbes in 2015 at $850 million, has not said much about Egypt’s economy, the Arab world’s third largest, since 2014.
“I am trying not to be controversial all the time, and there wasn’t anything happening substantially in Egypt. It is only this week we started seeing some kind of action,” he said.
“Had they announced the devaluation then (back in 2014), 90 percent of the so-called investment’s interest and momentums would have turned into proper projects by now, but, in the absence of a currency value, people were of course afraid to put money.”
Sawiris hails from a prominent Egyptian family which controls the sprawling Orascom corporate empire. He owns Swiss-based Orascom Development Holding, which runs tourist resorts, travel agencies and real estate projects in 10 countries, including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Jordon, Morocco, Turkey, Germany, Spain, Montenegro and Switzerland.
The businessman said he has not yet figured how much he is willing to invest in Egypt, but that his company will continue with affordable housing projects in Cairo and other Egyptian cities. He said one Orascom project to build 1,000 new schools in Egypt has faced difficulty after the government decided to scrap the project and restart the tendering process.
When asked about his company’s plans for the coming year, Sawiris said he “will go whenever there is an opportunity”, but did not elaborate. Whatever his strategy, as Sawiris approaches his sixtieth milestone birthday he is certainly more upbeat about the prospects for his birthplace.
“People should understand that the pain they are going through now will result in fantastic opportunities to everybody. There will be more jobs and better living conditions.”
© Zawya 2016
