Egypt Interviews

Interview: Osama Bishai, Chief Executive Officer, Orascom Construction

Orascom Construction is a leading global engineering and construction contractor primarily focused on infrastructure, industrial and high-end commercial projects in the Middle East, North Africa, the United States, and the Pacific Rim for public and private clients. The Group also develops and invests in infrastructure opportunities. What is your outlook for Egypt’s economy? We see incredibly…
Interview: Prof Ismail Abdel Ghaffar Ismail, President, Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AASMT)

The Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport is a regional university operated by the Arab League which runs programs in marine transportation, business, engineering and is quickly growing its curriculum to ensure recent graduates meet labor market requirements. Established in 1972, the multi-purpose & multi-task institution specialized on offering its services to Arab…
Interview: Ahmed Hafez, CEO, Ideal Standard MENA

Ideal Standard designs, manufactures and supplies bathroom innovations for residential, commercial and institutional buildings. They operate through 47 factories around the globe, 6 of which are in Egypt’s 10th of Ramadan City. Ideal standard has had a MENA region presence since the 1960s and is celebrating its 35th anniversary in the Egyptian market. How do…
Interview: Basil El Baz, CEO, Carbon Holdings

Carbon Holdings is a privately owned petrochemical company. They develop midstream and downstream petrochemical projects to supply the manufacturing, mining and construction sectors. They currently operate the Egypt Hydrocarbon Corporation (EHC), Oriental Petrochemicals Corporation (OPC) and are in the early stage of financing a third project Tahrir Petrochemicals Corporation (TPC). What role do you see…
Interview: Ayman Ismail, Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO, Dar Al Mimar Group (DMG)

Dar Al Mimar Group (DMG) is the largest vertically integrated holding covering real estate development in Egypt. The group focuses on world-class standards and operates in three sectors: engineering, real estate, and hospitality through its subsidiaries. Since 2005 Mountain View is among Egypt’s leading private property development companies. DMG has developed and now manages over…
Interview: Mohammed Saad Eldin, Chairman, Saad Eldin Group

Saad Eldin Group. The highly diversified vertically integrated Oil & Gas holding was founded in 1985 and is focused on servicing LPG, LNG, CNG and other industrial gases. Saad Eldin Group subsidiaries and factories are dedicated to manufacturing, filling and delivering of gas cylinders throughout Egypt. Its facilities include gas processing plants, LPG container manufacturing…
Interview: Albert Gress, Country Manager Egypt, SDX Energy

SDX Energy is a North Africa focused international E&P business with high margin producing assets and a transformational exploration upside. It engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas primarily in the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Kingdom of Morocco. Net production: 3,237 boe/d, 2P reserves: 13.5 mmboe. The company is cash flow…
Interview: David Chi, Vice President and General Manager, Apache Egypt

Apache has 22 years of exploration, development and operations experience in Egypt and is one of the largest acreage holders in Egypt’s Western Desert. Apache has invested more than $1 billion in the Egyptian oil and gas sector during 2018. It remains the largest oil producer in Egypt, one of the largest foreign investors in the country, and in particular the largest American investor in Egypt. Are you optimistic about…
Interview: Tarek El Molla, Minister of Petroleum of Egypt

How will natural gas exports contribute to Egypt’s economic acceleration? The current strategy of the Ministry aims at fulfilling the requirements of the local market and completion of the gas development projects. However, to achieve such a vital goal we worked towards increasing production by speeding up the development of the Mediterranean discoveries. Thus, due…
Interview: Maged Ezz Eldeen, Country Senior Partner, PwC Egypt

How have Egypt’s economic reforms affected the competitiveness of the economy? Egypt’s unprecedented macroeconomic and business legislation reform measures are bearing positively on the country’s competitive standing. For the first time in eight years, Egypt’s ranking on the global competitiveness report witnessed a significant jump of 15 places in 2017. Underpinning this was a remarkable…
Interview: Mr. Mohamed Hamza Talaat, Managing Partner, Baker & McKenzie Egypt – Helmy Hamza & Partners

A market leader in mergers and acquisitions, project finance and capital markets. Named IFLR Egypt’s “Law Firm of the Year” six times, with its Cairo office, ranked Tier 1 by IFLR1000, Legal500 and Chambers & Partners for Banking & Finance and M&A. With 40 years’ experience in the local market, they are the go-to firm…
Interview: Hala Helmy El-Saeed, Minister of Planning and Administrative Reform of Egypt

The Ministry of Planning, Monitoring and Administrative Reform’s vision is to ensure efficient planning and management of the state’s public investments. It seeks sustainable economic development by ensuring the state’s administrative body becomes increasingly more effective, efficient, and capable of managing state resources to provide quality services to citizens. How do you assess Vision 2030’s…
Interview: Mohamed Farid, Chief executive officer, The Egyptian Exchange (EGX)

Egypt’s stock exchange, the Egyptian Exchange (EGX), comprises two exchanges, Cairo and Alexandria. How do you assess the EGX performance? In 2017 the EGX had five initial public offerings (IPO) amounting to 4 billion with 46% being demanded by foreign investors. In 2018 we saw three IPO’s. In 2019 we will see several primary offerings from the public sector include: Banque du…
Interview: Mervat Sultan, Chairperson, Export Development Bank of Egypt (EBE)

Export Development Bank of Egypt (EBE) was established for the purpose of boosting Egyptian exports. The Bank offers banking and financial services to encourage the export activities of the agricultural, industrial, commercial and services sectors. One of the main business lines and activities of the Bank is the Corporate Banking and Loan Syndication Activities. How…
Interview: Ahmed Heikal, Managing Director, Qalaa Holdings

Qalaa Holdings is a leading private equity investment company in Egypt focusing in energy and infrastructure. Qalaa manages an investment portfolio consisting of 19 Opportunity-Specific Funds (OSFs). Its investments are distributed through 12 countries in the Middle Eastern and North African markets and span 14 industrial sectors. Qalaa Holdings is an African leader in energy and infrastructure.…
Interview: Mohammed Berro, Chief Executive Officer, Emirates NBD Egypt

Emirates NBD Egypt is one of the largest banks operating in Egypt excels in premier banking and pioneers in digital banking. It is an essential stakeholder in financing mega infrastructure projects and development initiatives in Egypt. Emirates NBD Egypt is a wholly owned subsidiary of Emirates NBD Group, a leading banking group in the region. …