Egypt’s communications and information technology sector is a leading global outsourcing destination ranked thirteenth on A.T. Kearney’s 2007 Global Services Location Index ahead of competitors including the Czech Republic, the UAE, Poland, Canada, Australia and Ireland. For More Information download the document.

Egypt’s financial services sector — one of the oldest and most-established in the Middle East — is also one of the best-developed in the region thanks to an industrious private sector and key regulatory reforms. For More information download the File.

Egypt’s unique geographic location combined with an expanding infrastructure base is enhancing the country’s position as a key global logistics hub for companies looking to do business in, or trade between, Europe, Asia and Africa. With over 8% of the world’s maritime shipping passing through the Suez Canal each year and an increasing number of international companies from India and China to Turkey and Spain using Egypt as a manufacturing base for exports targeted at the European market, Egypt’s logistics and transportation sector is playing an increasingly vital role in international trade. Some 90% of Egypt’s foreign trade is shipped through ports, while the country’s logistics capacity continues to expand hand-in-hand with the volume of trade.

With natural gas reserves expected to be exhausted in the next 57 years, Egypt is an investor’s dream when it comes to sustainable energy resources. Egypt possesses an abundance of land, sunny weather and high wind speeds, making it a prime resource for three renewable energy sources: wind, solar and biomass. Although renewable energy is a relatively virgin market in Egypt, the country’s strategic location and the government’s commitment to increasing its renewable energy output make it an attractive investment opportunity. In fact, the 2008 New Renewable Energy Act (NREA) will soon create a new policy framework that fosters an investor-friendly system and encourages foreign as well as private sector involvement.

Egypt is home to the only fully vertically integrated textiles industry in the Middle East, with the entire production process — from the cultivation of cotton to the production of yarns, fabrics and ready-made garments — carried out domestically. The sector, which employed more than 1 million people in 20006/07, is a fast-growing contributor to the nation’s exports, valued at US$ 1.8 billion and representing 18% of the non-oil exports in 2007. The sector’s export growth rate is about 17% per year. There are approximately 4,000 textile-related companies registered with the Federation of Egyptian Industries; of these, 400-500 of them currently export. The power player within the sector is ready-made garments (RMG), worth 75% of the textile and garment industry. The RMG subsector produced about 310 million pieces in 2006, with global brands such as Marks & Spencer, GAP, Wal-Mart, Levi Strauss, Target and Calvin Klein sourcing from and investing in Egypt.