Egypt-U.S. Economic Relations
	Partnerships and Agreements Egypt-U.S. Relations Profile 07 (PDF) New Egypt-U.S. Trade Egypt-U.S. Trade Statistics-March 07 (PDF) New Egypt-U.S. Investment USAID Programs in Egypt- March 06 (PDF) Qualified Industrial Zone (QIZ) 06 (PDF) Other documents related to Egypt-U.S. Relations

Egypt-U.S. Investment

According to official Egyptian statistics, the United States tops the list of investing countries in Egypt. It is the largest petroleum and second largest non-petroleum, non-Arab, foreign direct investor in the country. The U.S. Department of Commerce calculated the stock of U.S. FDI at the end of Q3 2006 at $5.57 billion, representing 10.8% ofU.S. foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Middle East and Africa.

Egypt's General Authority for Investment & Free Zones (GAFI) calculated the total stock of U.S. foreign direct investment (FDI) at $1.46 billion divided among some 496 companies as of December 2006, up from $589 million as of June 2005. This represents 10% of total non-Arab, non-petroleum inland FDI in Egypt. It is worth noting that GAFI tracks only U.S. investment in Egyptian companies formed under Investment Law 8/1997 and Companies Law 159/1981; it does not deal with U.S. investment in the petroleum sector, the chief recipient of U.S. FDI in Egypt.

GAFI statistics show that the highest U.S participation in companies’ capital is in the chemicals sector, followed by engineering and pharmaceuticals. Textile companies rank fourth in terms of presence of U.S. capital. During 2006, $231.8 million of U.S. capital was invested in 99 inland and free zone companies. Most of this capital was directed to the chemical, engineering and financial sectors. American Standard Inc., Bank of New York, and Citigroup, were among the major investors during this period.

The total stock of U.S. direct investment in petroleum and natural gas sector amounts to 65% of total U.S. FDI in Egypt. Houston-based Apache Oil Company (AmCham Member) is the largest foreign investor in Egypt with investments of over $3.2 billion as of December 2005. Other U.S.-based oil exploration and production companies operating in Egypt include BP (AmCham Member), Arco, Caltex, Exxon-Mobil (AmCham Member), Marathon, Phoenix, Seagull Energy Corp. and Texaco.

In addition to their dominant role in the energy sector, U.S. firms are active in the banking sector and in a wide range of manufacturing industries, producing goods for the domestic and export markets. U.S. multinationals investing in Egypt include American Express, AIG Insurance, Bechtel, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Citibank, Coca Cola, Commercial International Bank (CIB), Energizer, General Motors, GlaxoSmithKline, H.J. Heinz, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft , PepsiCo, Pfizer, Procter and Gamble, and Xerox.^*

U.S. firms have competed successfully for major infrastructure projects in Egypt. More projects are on the way, some of which have regional impact, such as airports, telecommunications, TV broadcasting, and port projects. The petroleum, power generation and transmission, and telecommunications/information-technology sectors represent the most promising investment sectors in Egypt. In addition, expansions in the Red Sea resorts provide increasing opportunities for exporters of hotel equipment and environmental management services. Airports and other infrastructure being built to serve the new resorts also represent additional opportunities for U.S. exports and investment. Tourism is a major growth industry, especially along the Mediterranean and Red Sea coasts, and is attracting U.S. project management expertise and quality U.S. building systems and equipment.

(Last Updated March 10, 2007)

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