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The committee organized a roundtable discussion at the beginning of the year to discuss the impact of Law 5 of 1998 on the banking sector and investment in Egypt. The roundtable’s guest speakers were H.E. Youssef Boutros-Ghali, minister of economy, and Mr. Sherif Raafat, chairman, Egyptian Stock Exchange.
The committee also held some joint meetings with the Investment and
Capital Market & Stock Exchange committees. Among the speakers
was Ambassador David J. Dunford, coordinator of the Mena Bank Transition
Team for the establishment of the Bank for Economic Cooperation &
Development in the Middle East and North Africa. Capital Market & Stock Exchange Committee The committee held several panels of discussion throughout the year with keynote speakers including: Mr. Christopher Vaughn, managing director, HSBC Investment Company; Ms. Nevine El Tahry, chairperson, Delta EAB Brokerage; Mr. Ahmed Heikal, managing director, EFG/Hermes Brokerage; Mr. Mohamed Younis, chairman, Concord International Investment Egypt Office; Mr. Ossama Nassar, managing director, Fleming-Al Mansour Securities Brokerage; and Ms. Dina El Khayat, managing director, Lazard Asset Management Egypt. mong the topics discussed at the panels of discussion
were: "The current downtrend in the stock market: Will it continue?"
and "Globalization of the non-bank financial services in Egypt
– The role of the foreign players and the future of local firms." Construction & Engineering Committee The Construction & Engineering Committee held a meeting to encourage U.S. companies to participate in SAIE Egypt 98, the Arab/African building construction exhibition that took place in Cairo from December 3 to December 7, 1998. The meeting was held to advise participants on how to encourage U.S. companies to exhibit in Egypt. The guest speaker was former U.S. ambassador to Egypt Mr. Nicholas A. Veliotes. The Construction
& Engineering Committee held a workshop with both the Shipping
& Maritime and Investment committees. The workshop was about
"Egypt: From comparative advantage to competitive advantage in
the transshipment and maritime industries." It was a workshop
held under the auspices of H.E. Soliman Metwalli. There were three
sessions discussing the following topics: "The maritime industry
after deregulation – the opportunities," "Latest
developments in the maritime industry: Construction and infrastructure" and "The financing development of the
maritime industries." The head of the Taxation Authority, Mr. Fakhry Saad El Din; Ms.
Mona Moselhy, head of the Investment Tax Office, Cairo; and Dr.
Ramadan Sadik, tax law professor, Faculty of Law, Helwan University
and consultant of the head of the Tax Authority, were guest speakers
at the committee during 1998 and discussed "The results and
the effects of applying and executing the new policy of the Taxation
Authority," "Investment incentives and guarantees"
and "Tax Law #5 of 1998." Environmental Awareness Committee The committee discussed several topics, including "Renewable energy: Achievements, future prospects and environmental impact," a presentation given by Eng. Mahmoud Zanoun, chairman of the New & Renewable Energy Authority, Ministry of Electricity. A meeting was held to talk about "Egypt’s natural gas as the environmental fuel," and the managing director of the Natural Gas Vehicles Company, Mr. Frank Chapel, talked about the necessity to switch to natural gas to save the environment. Another meeting was
held to discuss health and environment and their effects on our lives.
The meeting was led by Dr. Sherif Omar, professor of surgical
oncology, member of the Egyptian parliament and chairman of
the Health & Environment Committee. Health & Pharmaceuticals Committee The committee workshop
convened once with guest speaker Mr. Thomas Bombellas, vice president,
Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America (PHARMA). The
points discussed at the meeting were: the latest study prepared by PHARMA to solve the IPR problems in
developing countries, "Effects of Patent
Protection on the Prices of PHARMA -Products. Is IP Protecting
Raising the Drug Bill in Developing Countries?" and the
formation of an association for the pharmaceuticals companies
operating in Egypt. The Human Resources Committee held a couple of meetings. The session covered the quality assessment components required to build and sustain performance excellence. Components include leadership, information and analysis, strategic quality planning, human-resource excellence, process quality, operational results and customer satisfaction. The guest speaker was Dr. Dana Hart, a senior consultant and trainer certified in total quality systems, business process re-engineering, leadership development and behavioral training. Another meeting was
held to discuss the AUC/CASA professional track model program to highlight
the opportunities for attracting American-educated young professional
interns. The guest speaker was Dr. Gerald F. Lampe, director of the
School of Advanced International Studies and the Arabic program at the
Johns Hopkins University in Washington D.C. A joint meeting was organized with the Environmental Awareness and Technology committees with guest speaker Dr. Nabil Bedewi, president, New Generation Motors Corporation (NGM). The topic of discussion was "Technology and the environmental impact of electric and hybrid-electric vehicles: the possibility of manufacturing in Egypt." A special luncheon
was organized with speakers Dr. Karl Heinz Benzak, director
of projects overseas, Mercedes Benz, and Mr. Eric Jonscher, director
of international sales & marketing, Mercedes Benz. The topic of
their presentation was "Development of Egypt’s automotive
industry with a special presentation by Mercedes Benz." International Donors Committee The committee held
one meeting to discuss the European Economic Union (EEU) program in
Egypt. The guest speaker was H.E. Ambassador Christian Falkoski, head
of delegation of the European Commission in Egypt. The committee held several meetings with keynote speakers including: H.E. Youssef Boutros-Ghali, minister of economy; Mr. Sherif Raafat, chairman, Egyptian Stock Exchange; Dr. Saad El Din Sallam, chairman, Olympic Group Financial Investment; Eng. Mohi Abu Ismail, chairman, Engineering Industries Co.; Mr. Terry Newendorp, president, Taylor-Dejongh, Inc.; and Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, senior consultant to the minister of economy. The topics discussed during these meetings were: "The impact of Law 5 of 1998 on the banking sector and investment in Egypt," "The Egyptian private sector consolidation and setting the trend," "Arranging finance for BOOT transactions" and "Direct investment for the mega-projects: Toshka, Silicon Valley and East Port Said." The committee organized a workshop entitled "Investment opportunities in Egypt," under the auspices of H.E. Dr. Atef Ebeid, minister of public enterprise sector. The workshop aimed at promoting the privatization process by highlighting the activities of 14 companies the government had decided to offer to strategic investors. AmCham will roadshow the companies in the United States with the help of Merrill Lynch and ING Barings. The committee also
held a joint workshop with the Shipping & Maritime and Construction & Engineering committees. The workshop was
entitled
"Egypt: From comparative advantage to competitive advantage in
the transshipment and maritime industries." It was held under
the auspices of H.E. Soliman Metwalli. Three sessions discussing the
following topics were held throughout the day: "The maritime
industry after deregulation – the opportunities," "Latest
developments in the maritime industry: Construction and infrastructure" and "The
financing development of the maritime industries." Several guest
speakers with different topics of discussion were invited to the
committee meetings, Among them were Dr. Hassan Abdel Bassit Gemei,
associate professor of civil law, director, Center for Legal & Technical Studies for Economic Legalization
& Consumer Protection,
Cairo University, and legal adviser to the Ministry of Trade who gave
a presentation on "Antitrust and competition law: The proposed
draft law." New Development Zones Committee The New Development Zones Committee was established in 1997 to introduce the opportunities of investment in mega-projects like Toshka, Gulf of Suez and North Sinai to Egyptian and American investors. A meeting was held to discuss the private investor’s analysis of investment in the South Valley, Egypt. The guest speaker was Mr. John Elgin, the project manager in Arthur Anderson for HRH Prince Al Waleed bin Talal’s South Valley Agriculture Development Project. A joint meeting was
held with the Technology Committee to talk about the Sinai Technology
Valley, its vision and investment opportunity. The Egyptian government
requested the KWAAK Hwankyung Group in Korea, an internationally
renowned planning research organization to prepare the urban master plan and international marketing strategy for the Sinai Technology
Valley (STV) development project. The committee held a series of meetings with distinguished speakers and interesting topics in the field of oil, gas and petroleum. Among the speakers were Eng. Salah Omar, chairman, Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals Company; Eng. Mohamed Said, chairman, Egyptian Drilling Co.; Eng. Moustafa El Toukhy, chairman, Petromaint; and Eng. Mamdouh Mahgoub, chairman, San Misr. The different topics of discussion were: "The present and the future of the petrochemical industry in Egypt," "Maintenance in the petroleum sector" and "Egyptian Drilling Company: Success story." In April 1998, the
committee organized a field trip to the Petrobel Balayim Petroleum
Company in Port Said. Regional Cooperation Committee The Regional Cooperation Committee was established in 1998 to highlight areas of bilateral or multilateral interest between the region’s business communities so that the Chamber’s assets would be used to develop promising opportunities into full-blown transactions. Its goals are to identify the barriers to economic investment and trade interaction between the members of the region and lobby the appropriate circles for their removal. It strives to open lines of communication for the interaction of business communities through visits, conferences, symposiums and the like. Its objectives include the formulation and sponsorship of concrete schemes – whether legislative, institutional or otherwise – to further the economic integration process within a specific region. The committee held a
joint meeting with the Capital Market & Stock Exchange and Banking & Finance
committees to discuss "The role of the MENA
Bank in today’s regional marketplace." The Shipping & Maritime Committee held a joint workshop with the Construction & Engineering and Investment committees about "Egypt: From comparative advantage to competitive advantage in the transshipment and maritime industries." It was a workshop held under the auspices of H.E. Soliman Metwalli. The three sessions discussed: "The maritime industry after deregulation – the opportunities," "Latest developments in the maritime industry: Construction and infrastructure" and "The financing development of the maritime industries." Successful Career Women Committee Several meetings were held by the Successful Career Women Committee, including "Document management system," with guest speakers Mr. Mohamed Alassal, assistant general manager in the Management & Development Center, and Eng. Tarek Zaki, system engineer manager in Protech. Another meeting was held to discuss "Self-esteem, self-image, self-confidence." The guest speaker was Dr. Ibrahim El Fiky, founder and president of CHEOPS Int. Seminars Inc. Canada. Another committee
meeting was held by Prof. Shawky Akabawi, professor of psychiatry in
Al Azhar
University, to talk about "Stay dynamic and productive while
enjoying good health and high morale." Two prominent women
entrepreneurs, Mrs. Loula Zaklama, president of Rada Research, and Mrs.
Naela Alouba, president of Nahal Trading, were congratulated in a
meeting for being recognized among the leading 50 women entrepreneurs
of the world in London. The topic of discussion was "An overview
of challenges for women, and opportunities for success in Egypt in
comparison to other countries." Another meeting discussed "Physical
and psychological well being" with guest speaker Dr. Ahmed Rashed,
professor of gynecology from Ain Shams
University. The Technology Committee held a joint meeting with the New Development Zones
Committee to talk about the Sinai Technology Valley, its vision and
investment opportunity. The Egyptian government requested the KWAAK
Hwankyung Group in Korea, an internationally renowned planning
research organization to prepare the urban master plan and
international marketing strategy for the Sinai Technology Valley (STV)
development project. The committee held a
meeting to discuss the present tourism situation after last
November's terrorist attack in Luxor and compared it to the situation
prior to 1990. The ancient Egyptian sites no longer attract the large
amounts of tourists they did previously. The greatest demand is for
beach resorts such as Sharm Al Sheikh and Hurghada. Discussion covered
how the promotion
of Egypt as a country is not active and what activities should be
undertaken to improve that, with participants agreeing that
infrastructure, utilities and services
should be restored to successfully compete with tourist
destinations in the developed world. The committee met once in 1998 to discuss the Bilateral Trade Agreement between Egypt and Palestine. The members of the committee, along with guest speaker Mr. Sayed Abu El Komossan, first undersecretary and chairman of the foreign trade sector, Ministry of Trade, discussedthe impediments of doing business with Palestine. These can be narrowed down to ports (time and money wasted when containers are ordered to park for several days for security reasons), and the unavailability of Egyptian financial institutions to serve business and trade opportunities for Egyptian investors. Some recommendations suggested to solve the above problems were building a duty-free storage facility for the ports at Rafah and North Sinai, and encouragement for setting up middle men between Egyptian exporters and Palestinian importers. |
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