“The Saudi Egyptian Construction Company was established in 1975 by the Saudi and the Egyptian governments. It is split equally by both parties. The company was established for real estate investment in Egypt. Since 1975, we have been making excellent investments and we have been producing different kinds of apartments with the required standards for Egyptians and for Arabs,” explains Engineer Darwish Ahmed Hassanin.
“Our biggest success was in Libya from 2007 to 2010, where GCC participated in infrastructure projects throughout the country. We are currently doing similar projects in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Egypt. Our main focus in Egypt is the Suez Canal project,” notes Mostafa Al Hassan, Chairman of Global Consolidated Contractors (GCC).
Coca-Cola has been a player in Egypt for over 70 years and it has established itself as the leading beverage company in the country. “Our biggest project here in Egypt is our partnership with the Egyptian Food Bank and our pledge to develop the hundred poorest villages in Egypt. This project will take us all the way into 2020,” explains Omar Mandour, General Manager of Coca-Cola Egypt, Yemen, Libya and South Sudan.
“In spite of all the challenges posed by the Arab Spring period, we have maintained our growth and today we are a leading player in the MENA automotive region. Our headquarters are based in Egypt but we also operate in Iraq, Libya and Algeria,” says Osman Sever, Chief Business Development Officer of Ghabbour Auto.
“e-payment currently has enormous potential and it is expanding. When we started in 2005, e-payment did not even exist and now it is part of the country’s future strategy, which was announced by the Minister of Telecommunication few months ago,” explains Haithem Trabeek, Strategy & Business Planning Director of e-finance.
“We work on promoting trade and investment between Egypt and the United States through serving our members and the entire business community and advocating on their behalf for a favourable business environment and fostering a socially responsible business environment.”
“The SCCT is a true success story for Egypt… There is no other container terminal on the Suez Canal on the Mediterranean end able to handle very large container vessels. Therefore, our main competitive advantage is our prime location. There are facilities close by on the Mediterranean but we stand out because of our size,” explains Klaus Holm Laursen, CEO of Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT).
The Egyptian Credit Bureau – or iScore – was founded in 2005 by a consortium of 26 banks. “We are here to help the customers rationalise their credit and help the banks evaluate and make rational credit decisions when granting a loan to a customer,” explains Mohamed Kafafi, Chairman and CEO of the institution.
“I think that mid-income and low-income housing is probably the safest bet right now; luxury homes have been in limbo over the past few years,” reveals Khaled Nasser, Regional Director of RE/MAX Egypt – the leading real estate agency in Egypt.
“Tourism is one of the major sources of income for our country and it has been deeply affected since 2011. In 2014, slowly but surely we are going to start to see more positive results,” reveals Mahmoud ElKeiy, General Manager of Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at The First Residence.
