Decision on an Emirati investor can harm the Egyptian economy

Abraaj Capital Investments in Egypt

and The report of the acquisition by the Emirati company of many Egyptian companies and institutions of health and education, has been observed in recent years.

As the acquisition of the health sector in Egypt increased, the Egyptian board of directors issued a confidential report in which it considered the acquisition of A number of private health facilities as a threat to Egyptian national security. .

The confidential report warned of a suspicion of "money laundering" due to the nature of the creation of Creed Healthcare Limited, indirectly held by Abraaj Capital, while its shareholders are unknown.

In August 2012, and in May 2012, the company merged the tower and the laboratory plants into a new entity under the name Integrated Diagnostics Company Holding.

The union stated that the UAE company bought 52.7% of Cairo Specialty Hospital in July 2014 for LE 106 million. At the end of 2014, the company acquired Cleopatra Hospital for a fee of LE 770 million and is negotiating to buy Amon Pharmaceuticals Company.

There are 17 publicly traded Egyptian companies operating in health care and medicines, and foreigners contributing to 16 companies in varying proportions.

Abraaj Capital is the Egyptian chain of Spinneys established in Egypt to market food and consumer products in the Middle East through distribution agreements with leading brands in the field of fast-moving consumer goods.

Among the UAE's investments in Egypt, the CIRA Group, the educational group that owns the FUTURES brand, has language schools and has launched – supported by Abraaj Investments – the Badr BUC University, which started its operations in September 2014.

Also at the Renaissance University in Beni Suef province, and was founded in 2007, as the first private university in Upper Egypt, did not mention the part of the business in one of these companies.

Investor Concerns

At a time when 96 companies out of a total of 243 publicly traded Egyptian companies issued statements denying their association with Abraaj Capital after panic and panic among Investors for fear of the repercussions of the crisis of the UAE company, South Valley Cement (SVCE) announced, according to a statement of the Egyptian stock exchange, that it invested 3.5 million dollars in the group Abraaj Capital, in the form of shares. [CIBC] reported that two of the UAE's two subsidiaries had borrowed two medium-term loans, noting that the bank had no interests in the group but held limited stakes in two private equity funds at a rate below 1%.

The companies' statements came at the request of the Egyptian stock market listed companies to disclose any contractual relationship or connection with the UAE company and the impact of these contracts.

On the impact of the financial earthquake of Abraaj Capital on the Egyptian economy in general and on the companies and institutions that acquired it in particular, the economics professor Ahmed Male Allah said that the companies acquired by the UAE company would be affected. . He pointed out that the UAE company has a lot of investment in Egypt, stressing that these investments are guided by a strategic direction for the United Arab Emirates and Abraaj Capital occupies one of the investment branches of the emirate of the Gulf. The bankruptcy of a large group like Abraaj Capital would have negative repercussions on indicators of foreign direct investment, on which Egypt relies heavily on the Fund's program. International Monetary Fund to fill the dollar funding gap that the state needs to pay the import bill from abroad throughout the year. According to the latest reports released earlier this month by UNCTAD, foreign direct investment in Egypt decreased by 9% in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year, which means that the Emirati company bankruptcy New decline in this index. "

And Abizaid:" At the micro level, there is no doubt that medical laboratories and company-owned hospitals provide important medical services, which is true for the middle and upper income brackets.

He pointed out that "the UAE company was able to compete with private hospitals in Egypt, known for the practice of monopoly, especially in terms of price and product quality was not not easy to find and the bankruptcy of this company Monopoly on the Egyptian citizen in addition to the loss of the advantage of transferring foreign expertise and advanced technological devices to the health sector. "

The Economics professor warns of an impending explosion in the Egyptian health sector because of the shortage of drugs due to reluctance of pharmaceutical companies to import production materials, medical solutions and coagulation drugs from abroad. Percentage

He said that "the expected explosion in the health sector in Egypt will be more severe than previous crises because the sector is suffering from a major deterioration and government practices are bad."