•Egypt secured close to $60 billion in investment pledges at a conference last March, but up to $300 billion is needed in coming years

•Can local corporates raise funds in foreign currency to drive growth? Will Egypt be able to meet its immediate target of $60 billion of FDI over the next four years?

•A panel of four high-profile speakers will debate on these questions, including: Basil El Baz, CEO of Carbon Holdings; Hisham El ‎ Khazindar, Co-Founder & Managing Director of Qalaa Holdings; Omar Mehanna, Head of Merchant Banking at NBAD; Ahmed Badreldin, Senior Partner at Abraaj Capital; and moderated by Yousef Gamal El-Din

Cairo, Egypt, Abu Dhai, UAE; (May 23rd, 2015): The National Bank of Abu Dhabi ("NBAD"), the Safest Bank in the Middle East and the Emerging Markets, will bring together Egyptian government officials, business leaders and financiers at a forum in Cairo on 27 May, 2015 to discuss what steps the Egyptian government and businesses can take to promote long-term sustainable growth in the country.

The forum, 'Egypt on the Rise - West-East Corridor', comes after Egypt secured close to $60 billion in investment pledges at the Economic Conference  last March in Sharm El Sheikh. However, President Abdel Fattah Al Sissi said that "Egypt needs no less than $200 billion to $300 billion to bring real hope for the 90 million Egyptians." Egypt on the Rise will debate on further actions the government and businesses need to take, as well as on challenges foreign and local investors face, and lessons to be learnt from the success stories so far.

Ex-CNBC anchor Yousef Gamal El-Din will moderate a panel of business leaders and financiers, which includes Basil El Baz, CEO of Carbon Holdings; Hisham El ‎ Khazindar, Co-Founder & Managing Director of Qalaa Holdings; Omar Mehanna, Head of Merchant Banking at NBAD; and Ahmed Badreldin, Senior Partner at Abraaj Capital. Also in attendance will be senior representatives of over 100 Egyptian corporates as well as local and international investors. Egypt on the Rise will be held at the JW Marriott Hotel, Cairo, on 27 May, 2015.

Alex Thursby, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NBAD, said "Over the past year, the Egyptian government has made real progress by implementing meaningful structural reforms, which have put in place the stability needed for foreign capital to return to the market. However, with around $60 billion of foreign direct investment targeted over the next four years, Egypt needs to ensure the environment remains attractive for foreign investors. NBAD has been in Egypt for 40 years and is committed to its role as a channel for international capital into this rapidly emerging market."

Ahmed Ismail, NBAD's Chief Executive Officer in Egypt, said "According to the World Bank, only 17.4% of Egyptian firms operate in the formal credit market. This has to change if Egypt wants to grow its private sector. Local and international banks have an important role to play alongside the Egyptian government in helping prepare Egyptian companies for accessing international as well as local debt markets. Egypt on the Rise will bring together key stakeholders in this process and will address the critical questions that remain over Egypt's future growth potential."

"Egypt on the Rise - West East Corridor" is part of NBAD's Global Financial Markets Forum ("GFMF") Series events, which take place around the world and address critical issues that shape global economies across the West-East Corridor. Other Series events in recent months have included "The Future of Sukuk" in London and "The Future of Energy" in Kuala Lumpur.

In just six years, GFMF has evolved to become the premier annual financial markets conference in the MENA region, attracting over 1,300 delegates from around the world to Abu Dhabi. In recent years, GFMF has hosted highly-distinguished speakers from all over the world, including Dr Mohamed El-Erian, Dr Ben Bernanke, Dr Larry Summers, General Colin L. Powell, Nicholas Sarkozy, David Millibad, Jean-Claude Trichet, Niall Ferguson, Paul Volcker, Axel Weber, Dr. Nassim Nicholas Taleb, His Excellency Sheikh Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan and His Excellency Nasser Ahmed Al Sowaidi.

-Ends-

Biographies of speakers:

Yousef Gamal El-Din (MODERATOR)

Former host of CNBC's Access: Middle East and Access: Africa programmes. Yousef has reported on major events throughout the Arab World for CNBC's signature programs, from Squawk Box to Closing Bell. For two years, he co-anchored Capital Connection, a daily show serving as the bridge between markets in Asia, Europe and the US. Prior to joining CNBC in early 2010, Yousef was an anchor for Egyptian Television.

Basil El-Baz, Chairman & CEO, Carbon Holdings

Basil El-Baz is an Egyptian industrialist, entrepreneur and business executive serving as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Carbon Holdings, a downstream oil and gas development company.

While studying government and economics at Harvard University, El-Baz developed the concept for building an ammonia plant in Egypt, which ultimately became Egyptian Basic Industries Company (EBIC). EBIC is financed entirely by a consortium of international banks and the only project to date to receive a comprehensive loan guarantee from the Export - Import Bank of the United States. Carbon Holdings has also developed and financed Egypt Hydrocarbon Corporation (EHC), considered the first major industrial project to close in post-revolution Egypt.

Hisham El-Khazindar, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Qalaa Holdings

Mr. Hisham El-Khazindar is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Qalaa Holdings (formerly known as Citadel Capital), a leading investment company in Africa and the Middle East focused on infrastructure, energy, cement, agrifoods, transportation & logistics and mining.

Prior to that, Mr. El-Khazindar was the Executive Director of Investment Banking of EFG Hermes where he advised on landmark transactions including IPOs, private placements and M&A transactions in the region. During 1999-2000, he was on secondment to Goldman Sachs in London where he advised European companies and institutions. Mr. El-Khazindar serves on the boards of several leading regional companies including El Sewedy Electric and Magrabi Optics, and on the Advisory Committee of the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association. In 2013 he was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. He holds a BA in Economics from the American University in Cairo (1996) and an MBA from Harvard Business School (2003).

Ahmed Badreldin, Partner & Head of MENA, The Abraaj Group

Ahmed Badreldin is responsible for and oversees The Abraaj Group's investments in the Middle East and North Africa. He joined the Abraaj Group in 2008 after eight years at Barclays Capital in London.

Mr Badreldin graduated in Mechanical Engineering and Business Administration from the American University in Cairo and holds an MBA from Cranfield School of Management in the UK. He also serves as Director of Integrated Diagnostics Holdings, Spinneys, Stanford Marine Group, Viking and Saham Finance, and is a Board member of Endeavor Egypt.

Omar Mehanna, Global Head of Merchant Banking, NBAD

Mr. Mehanna is responsible for the corporate finance, equity capital markets, project finance, debt advisory, securities and funds administration platforms at NBAD. Mr. Mehanna has extensive years of international banking experience in UAE, Saudi Arabia, UK and France. He joined NBAD in early 2015 from Saudi British Bank (SABB) where he served as Chief Strategy Officer. Prior to this, he served HSBC Group as Managing Director and Head of Investment Banking advisory for MENA and Director of Mergers and acquisitions in London. In addition, he worked in Bank of America, Close Brothers and PwC in London and Paris. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Econometrics and Mathematical Economics from London School of Economics.

About GFMF
The Global Financial Markets Forum (GFMF), the annual conference organised by the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) since 2009, brings an array of well-known international statesmen and leaders to provide a comprehensive analysis of current events and insight on the critical issues affecting global economy and investors' sentiments. For further and updated information, please visit GFMF website: https://www.gfmf-nbad.com/

About NBAD
The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) has one of the largest networks in the UAE, with an expanding network of 125 branches and cash offices and more than 585 ATMs across the country. NBAD's growing international network consists of about 60 branches and offices in 18 countries stretching across five continents from the Far East to the Americas, giving it the largest global network among all UAE banks.

Since 2009, NBAD has been ranked consecutively as one of the World's 50 Safest Banks by the prestigious Global Finance magazine, which also named NBAD the Safest Bank in the Emerging Markets and the Middle East.

NBAD is rated senior long term/short term AA-/A-1+ by Standard & Poor's (S&P), Aa3/P1 by Moody's, AA-/F1+ by Fitch, A+ by Rating and Investment Information Inc (R&I) Japan, and AAA by RAM (Malaysia) , giving it one of the strongest combined rating of any  Global  financial institution.

A comprehensive financial institution, NBAD offers a range of banking services including retail, investment and Islamic banking. NBAD grows strategically toward its vision to be recognised as the World's Best Arab Bank.

For more information please visit our corporate webpage at: www.nbad.com.

For further enquires, please contact:
Michael Miller                                                                                 
Head of Investor, Media & Public Relations                         
Email: michael.miller@nbad.com                                             
Tel: +971 2 611 2355                                                                       
Mobile: +971 50 619 7116                                                            

Fadeela Khamis
Manager, Media & Public Relations
Email: fadeela.mohamed@nbad.com
Tel: +971 2 611 1511
Mobile: +971 56 616 2265             

© Press Release 2015