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SCZone delegation promotes investments from JapanSCZone delegation promotes investments from Japan

A delegation from the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) recently visited Japan to promote investment opportunities at the burgeoning industrial hub.

Peter Shaw-Smith, Former Correspondent, Middle East

February 27, 2023

2 Min Read
Egyptian and Japanese officials at SCZone
SCZone

The Egyptian roadshow introduced an array of green projects to 100 Japanese economic entities, including companies, banks, and financing and international cooperation institutions, it said.

Top of the visitors’ agenda were meetings with the Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation for Transport and Urban Development (JOIN) and Marubeni Corporation.

The Egyptian delegation was led by Waleid Gamal El Dien, chairman of SCZone, and Mohamed Abu Bakr, Egyptian ambassador to Japan. An SCZone statement said that a number of Japanese investments already existed within the zone.

SCZone’s delegation presented a number of investment opportunities to underline the importance of integration between ports and industrial zones. SCZone and JOIN agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding in several fields, in addition to arranging a future visit to Egypt for JOIN officials.

“SCZone offers new horizons for Japanese investment in various economic sectors, as it is an integrated and unique national economic project, in terms of the location and number of seaports. We also offer our investors various direct and indirect incentives to guarantee an attractive investment atmosphere,” Gamal El-Dien said.

Headquartered in Tokyo, Marubeni Corporation’s participation in the SCZone’s green development could be a feather in Egypt’s cap. The group is active in the fields of energy, infrastructure solutions, transportation, equipment and machinery manufacturing, financial solutions, and consumer products.

Related:EBRD launches second phase of Suez Canal digitalisation project

It also carries out green fuel projects, and it intends to establish new industrial zones. It owns over 130 subsidiaries around the world, as well as 16 liquefied gas tankers and operates 250 passenger aircraft.

SCZone officials also met with the Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group, which manages over 700 assets around the world and has four global offices, in addition to investments in the fields of alternative energy, industrial and commercial activities. Sumitomo is looking to sponsor green fuel projects within SCZone, and has launched green financing programmes for this type of project elsewhere.

A number of international concerns, including the UK's Globeleq, and a consortium featuring the UAE's Masdar, have announced green-fuel projects in the SCZone in the past 12 months.

Meeting with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli after the trip, Gamal El Dien said several projects in the areas of water desalination and the development of the ports at East Port Said, Al Adabiya and Al Arish, were underway or had been completed. Madbouli called progress in attracting investments “promising.”

Related:Staying relevant in evolving energy markets – Port of Corpus Christi

About the Author

Peter Shaw-Smith

Former Correspondent, Middle East

Peter Shaw-Smith is a former freelance Middle East correspondent for Seatrade Maritime News.

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