By Ayman Abualkhair

(Francais)

We are experiencing very special times, given the fact that the COVID-19 outbreak has reached 177 countries and regions and its spreading all over the world at an unpredictable pace.

This crisis has revealed our weakness as human beings, the imbalances that exist in many areas of our life, and the need to make serious reviews of our way to live. It shows more particularly the invalidity of the principle “every man for himself” should not lead to the well-being for anyone.

This crisis shows the unity of mankind's destiny and human brotherhood in an unprecedented way. The risk facing an individual or a community can affect everyone regardless of places, ethnicities or national and religious affiliations.

Coronavirus has completely changed our way of life, it is no longer as before: shopping queues, no more gatherings at school, there are no more children who play at the playgrounds, no more meetings at work, no more mass celebrations, no more physical contact with friends or even with relatives ... Coronavirus has banned all kinds of humans gatherings!. Everyone must fear for his own person, we are living hard times. But this pandemic disease also offers the opportunity for everyone to think deeply about his/her life, what he/she did and what he/she should do today and tomorrow. Above all, we must ask ourselves, why we are not prepared for such pandemic virus, when we have accumulated unprecedented scientific knowledge in many fields?!. Bill Gates said in 2015, during a TEDX conference, that the real danger to humans is not an atomic bomb but rather a virus! It is without doubt that we have to invest more resources into health protection and the well-being of human being.

The catastrophic consequences of Coronavirus on the world economy require immediate actions from decision-makers around the world, to protect the local economies, mainly SMEs, from collapsing.

I hope this worldwide crisis will be a catalyzer to a collective work in order to achieve a better future for everybody.

Stay safe, stay home!

Uncertainty has powered the incredible roller coaster ride in stock prices these past weeks and the remarkable (as well as historic) drop in bond yields.  Don’t expect that to go away anytime soon.  But do keep in mind legendary investor Ben Graham's advice: “The intelligent investor is a realist who sells to optimists and buys from pessimists.” 

Translation: During market routs like the one happening now consider adding to your investment portfolio.

Graham’s student, Warren Buffett famously said, “Widespread fear is your friend as an investor because it serves up bargain purchases.” Translation: Now might be a good time to put some cash to work or increase your contribution to your 401(k).

My tune will rarely change on this subject. Corrections, even bear markets, create opportunities for patient investors.  According to J.P. Morgan’s 2020 Guide to Retirement, from Jan. 3, 2000, to Dec. 31, 2019, $10,000 invested in the Standard & Poor's 500 index grew to $32,421 for an annualized total return of 6.06%. By simply missing the ten best days, that same $10,000 investment grew by half as much, to $16,180 for an annualized return of 2.44%. Ouch.

Can cash carry coronavirus? World Health Organization says use digital payments 

In recent columns, we discussed how to prepare your 401(k) for a downturn and talked about sound investing principles in the face of violent sell-offs. Stock prices may still face selling pressure as the number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. rise. So it is still a good time to review a few facts.

What's really moving the market

• In the near term, no one has any idea what is moving stock prices. If you've been glued to the financial news networks you might be struck, as I have been, by how many pundits can tell you with certainty why stocks are trading as they are at any moment. Yet we know that in the short-term stock prices are influenced by computer-driven buy and sell programs and institutional money which moves in and out with lightning speed. Short-term moves then reflect money flows rather than fundamentals. 
  
  

See beyond the moment

• The underlying fundamentals of a company will eventually matter again. Take tech bellwether Microsoft. The stock peaked on February 10th at $188.70. After warning on February 26th that sales in the PC unit — about 35% of total sales — will come in below expectations, the stock has been hopping around like a lotto ball on Powerball jackpot night. The long-term fundamentals of the company will likely still delight investors for years and when the focus returns to fundamentals the stock price will trade accordingly.  Buffett once said: “…when a great company gets into temporary trouble…we want to buy them when they’re on the operating table.“ Consider that as you review your investments this weekend. 
  
  

Don't get sucked into the panic

• Human nature never changes. Panic begets panic.  The Dutch tulip bulb bubble in the 1600s, one of the most famous bubbles of all time, demonstrates very clearly what rampant speculation wrought. At the height of the mania, rare tulip bulbs traded for multiples of the average person’s annual salary. Remain cool. And rational.  
  
  

Think about your mix

• Diversification is always smart. I can’t add much on this topic, except to say—you should follow a prudent diversification strategy that aligns with your appetite for risk. Stocks may be down double- digits but bonds are up.  That is the point of diversification. 
  
  

Keep cash to the side

• Keeping your powder dry is for times like these. Cash on the sidelines comes in handy when stocks decline. Consider adding cash to your stock holdings and if your bond holdings have appreciated above your target, trim those back and add to stocks to ensure your allocation reflects your goal.  Graham and Buffett would be proud.  
  

source: usatoday

Advisers and investors said that the Foreign Capital Investment Law will contribute to establishing new investment entities and open up investment and employment opportunities in the Sultanate, directly or indirectly.

The new law will help combat illicit trade and regulate the labour market, said observers, noting that the Sultanate’s business infrastructure is now ready to attract investments, with penalties stated in the new law serving as a deterent against fraud.

Ahmed bin Abdulkareem al-Hooti, Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) Board Member, said that the Foreign Capital Investment Law is an element among a set of laws that regulate commercial and economic activities, as well as investment in general.

 Al-Hooti pointed out that the Foreign Capital Investment Law also functions alongside the Law on Partnership Between Public and Private Sectors, Privatization Law, Investment Law and Bankruptcy Law. This is in addition to the establishment of the Commercial Arbitration Centre, which will help investors in decision making.

Meanwhile, Dr. Yousef bin Hamad al-Balushi, CEO of Investment Smart Portal, said that investment, in general, and foreign investment, in particular, assume great significance in any development process, and this prompts all countries to grab investment opportunities.

He added that there is currently an urgent need to speed up steps towards encouraging and attracting investments, locally and internationally, for a variety of realities dictated by the growing stage, which has almost attained its prime in infrastructure and legislations. 

This, in turn, dictates transformation into a new model that is capable of yielding fruits, in terms of major investments, and maximizing benefits from the Sultanate’s preparedness and high status among world countries.

 The Foreign Capital Investment Law enables the investor to exclusively own the land of a project or share it with another foreign investor or Omani investor, said Dr.

Adil al-Maqdadi, a former Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), an advocate and legal adviser at the Office of Dr.

Ahmed Said al-Jahwari Legal Consultants.  This law has not imposed any bottom-line capital for his company, unlike the previous law, which imposes a minimum of RO15,000 for approaching an investment venture.

source: omannews

Last year, Morocco witnessed a 36% increase in foreign investments to reach $3.6 billion, primarily in the finance and automotive sectors.

The significant jump in foreign direct investment in Morocco confirms the growing confidence of international corporations in the country’s business climate. Morocco ranked fourth in Africa in their amount in the latest ranking by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) thanks to last year’s whopping 36% increase over 2017 to reach $3.6 billion, primarily in the finance and automotive sectors.

Data show that the flow of foreign investment to North Africa increased by 7% to reach $14 billion, the largest share of which went to Egypt and Morocco, while Algeria and Tunisia received between $1 billion and $2 billion in investments.

UNCTAD said Morocco continues to benefit from a relatively stable economic performance, in addition to having a diversified economy that is appealing to foreign investment in finance, renewable energy, infrastructure and the automotive industry.

The largest investment made last year in the country was the acquisition of 53% of Saham, Morocco’s largest insurer, for $1 billion by the South African Sanlam Group.

African countries, including Morocco, are increasingly relying on special economic zones, including free zones, with the availability of 237 such areas on the continent providing a special tax environment to attract foreign investment in various value-added industries.

According to UNCTAD, special economic zones represent an important means of export promotion for most countries, especially those of manufactured goods. For Morocco, these zones represent about 60% of the net non-oil exports.

In a new initiative that reflects the solidity of the Moroccan business climate, the Casablanca Financial Pole and the World Financial Centre in Toronto, Canada, signed a partnership agreement to promote sustainable investment opportunities between Canada, Morocco and the rest of Africa.

According to Manal Bernoussi, director of strategy, marketing and communications at Casablanca Finance City, this “agreement will open the door to exploring opportunities for cooperation between North America, Morocco and Africa.” She also noted that this new partnership with the Canadian financial institution would allow Casablanca’s financial pole to reinforce its network of partners and strengthen its international cooperation.

The agreement reflects both Rabat’s interest in the Canadian market and the attractiveness of the African continent to investors from North America. The agreement will provide a platform to promote best practices in green financing and environmentally friendly infrastructure, in addition to sharing knowledge and expertise to accelerate the development of professional, educational and training programmes in finance.

Jennifer Reynolds, president & CEO of Toronto Finance International, said that through cooperation with Casablanca’s financial hub, her company will facilitate the exchange of information and expertise to create new opportunities for enhanced international cooperation. “Africa is one of the fastest growing economic regions in the world and its trade and investment relations with Canada are improving,” said Reynolds during the signing ceremony.

American corporation Keller Williams, a global real estate network, recently announced that it had chosen Morocco as a new centre for its business. The company said it would launch its business from Casablanca after being encouraged by Morocco’s previous ranking on the 2018 Africa Investment Index, issued by the international group Quantum Global Research Lab, as the most attractive destination for business.

In order to ensure the development of the future structure for investments, the Moroccan government has launched the activity of collective real estate agencies, as this type of move has proven effective globally as an investment mechanism.

Moroccan Minister of Economy and Finance Mohamed Benchaaboun said the activity of these agencies will contribute to modernising financing methods and instruments and will help create a dynamic in the financial markets so that the latter can play their role in mobilising savings and using them efficiently in investment.

The agencies operate according to strict rules in terms of governance, supervision and investment, making them modern investment tools of high quality. They also meet the needs of some companies in terms of long-term investment backed by real estate assets based on rental income, as well as providing flexibility in terms of access to various real estate markets.

These agencies are expected to contribute to the development of a sufficient and good supply of leased properties in the areas of trade, services, industry and hotels, as well as mobilising new financial resources for companies and helping them restructure their financial positions.

Nezha Hayat, head of the Moroccan Capital Markets Authority, said the launch of the initiatives is part of a strategy to diversify financial instruments that respond to the needs of investors. These initiatives are “a key backing of real estate financing and constitute an essential stage in implementing the specific vision for developing capital markets in order to effectively contribute to financing the economy,” she said.

Source: Thearabweekly

Saudi Arabia seeks foreign direct investment to help diversify the economy away from oil.

The Saudi Arabia General Investment Authority (SAGIA) said that the number of new licences approved for foreign businesses in Saudi Arabia rose by 70 per cent in the first quarter from a year earlier.

Ibrahim Al Omar, the Governor of SAGIA, said that applications from British and Chinese companies drove the increase, rising by 86 per cent and 71 per cent, respectively.

The fastest-growing industries were education, which the Kingdom only opened to foreign investors in November, and information and communications technology, added Al Omar.

The year-on-year growth in foreign licences follows Saudi efforts to remove restrictions on international investments. Yet, fresh foreign direct investment in the country has been modest.

SAGIA is working with the World Bank to improve its ranking on the ease-of-doing-business index, where it currently ranks 92 among 190 countries.

“We are reviewing all licencing requirements, and you will see a 50 per cent drop overall from government departments in terms of the time, cost and number of requirements to invest in Saudi Arabia,” Al Omar said.

Source: bankerme

DMCC – the world’s flagship Free Zone and Government of Dubai Authority on commodities trade and enterprise – has completed three roadshows this month visiting Sweden, the United Kingdom and China highlighting the opportunities available through DMCC for companies seeking expansion to global markets through Dubai.

DMCC’s senior management visited the cities of Gothenburg and Stockholm in Sweden for the first time with its Made for Trade Live international corporate roadshow. The events were held in partnership with the Swedish Trade and Investment Council (‘Business Sweden’), and with the support of the United Arab Emirates Embassy in Sweden, and the Swedish Embassy in the UAE.

80 Swedish business leaders and senior delegates attended the events, and discussed wide ranging issues such as Dubai’s economic growth, governance, regulation and trade; as well as DMCC’s infrastructure, products and services, and the positive impact Expo 2020 Dubai will have on the city’s local economy and the opportunity on offer to foreign companies.

The next stop on the Made for Trade Live roadshow was London. Staged in partnership with the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, over 100 leading names of British business gathered in the room to discuss the opportunities for growth presented by Dubai.

DMCC’s position as a commercial hub and gateway to global trade flows was the focus of the discussion, especially within the context ongoing developments connected to Brexit.

To date, there are over 1,400 British firms registered with DMCC.

“Our mandate at DMCC is to drive new trade flows to Dubai.

These roadshows enable us to do just that by communicating the Dubai story and highlighting DMCC’s commercial appeal to foreign businesses. Our first visit to Sweden was very successful, and we look forward to working more closely with the Swedish business community and building partnerships in a new market,” said Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, DMCC.

 “With bilateral trade between the UAE and the United Kingdom expected to reach approximately Dhs 121 billion by 2020, it was important to visit London again this year.

DMCC offers British firms an unprecedented opportunity to expand their enterprise, and the economic impact of Expo 2020 Dubai should be appealing to all ambitious companies looking to do business in this part of the world,” he added.

 Peter Bishop, Deputy Executive Chief, London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, added: “The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry was delighted to partner with DMCC on this project. Representing the interests of London businesses, it made sense for us to support the latest Made for Trade Live roadshow and communicate the tremendous opportunity in Dubai for British firms.

Our members represent some of the finest businesses in the capital, and I was encouraged to learn of the support offered by DMCC to foreign companies seeking to do business in the Middle East, Africa and Asia and beyond.” Feryal Ahmadi, Chief Operating Officer at DMCC was invited by the Chinese Government to speak at the International Forum on Free Trade Zones Development, a two-day forum in Hainan focused on promoting free trade.

The event was organised by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and The People’s Government of Hainan Province.

“DMCC has become a commercial hub and a critical connection point for trade ties between the UAE and China. Committed to driving the next phase of commercial growth between the two countries, DMCC has embarked on a comprehensive strategy to attract Chinese firms to DMCC.

We have launched a range of bespoke Chinese-language services that have seen a rise of Chinese companies set up in Dubai and register with DMCC. This is only the beginning and we look forward to creating more opportunity for Chinese firms in Dubai which will in turn, support China’s Belt and Road Initiative,” said Feryal Ahmadi, Chief Operating Officer, DMCC.

Since its inception, DMCC attracted over 3,000 businesses from 17 cities around the world to its international roadshows. The programme brings together business leaders interested in expanding their home base and offers them insights into the commercial appeal of Dubai and the opportunities it offers for growth in the region and beyond.

DMCC Headquartered in Dubai, DMCC is the world’s most interconnected Free Zone, and the leading trade and enterprise hub for commodities.

Whether developing vibrant neighbourhoods with world-class property like Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) and the much-anticipated Uptown Dubai, or delivering high performance business services, DMCC provides everything its dynamic community needs to live, work and thrive. Made for Trade, DMCC is proud to sustain and grow Dubai’s position as the place to be for global trade today and long into the future.

Source: .Gulftoday

The risk of an entire investment portfolio is always less than the sum of the risks of its individual parts. Many investors lose sight of that fact when making investment decisions.

When adding an additional security to your portfolio, you might look at the risk of the additional security only, not at its ability to reduce risk overall.

In this article, we'll explain how you can make your portfolio safer by adding risky investments.

Reduce Risk By Incorporating Risky Strategies

Hedging Strategies
Shorting a stock is always considered a risky strategy. You can, at best, make a 100% return on the position if the stock declines to zero.

In theory, the losses are infinite if the stock continues to rise. For example, if you shorted a $10 stock and it climbed to $50 you would lose five times your original investment.

Similarly, buying a leveraged inverse ETF is also risky. For example, the ProShares UltraShort S&P 500 ETF aims to provide performance that is the inverse of, and double that of, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. So if the S&P 500 rises by 1%, the leveraged inverse ETF should fall by 2%; and if the S&P 500 falls by 1%, the inverse ETF should rise by 2%.

The above strategies would be considered risky, but if done properly in a portfolio context, you can reduce your risk instead of increasing it. For example, if you hold a large position in a stock that you cannot sell, by shorting the same stock in an equal amount, you have effectively sold the position and reduced your risk of the stock to zero. Similarly an investor with a portfolio of U.S. stocks can reduce their risk by buying the appropriate leveraged inverse ETF. A 100% hedge will insulate you from risk, but it will also effectively reduce your exposure to any upside.

Buying Insurance With Options
A put option is a risky investment that gives you the right to sell a stock or an index at a predetermined price by a specified time. Buying a put option is a bearish strategy because you believe the stock or the market will go down.

You make money on a decline, and the most you can lose is the price you paid for the option.

Given the leverage of an option, it would be considered a risky investment. However, when a put option is paired with a stock that you currently own, it provides protection against a lower stock price.

Unlike hedging, which limits your upside, buying a put would still provide you with unlimited upside. It is, in effect, like buying insurance on your stock, and the cost of your put option is the insurance premium.

Using Low-Correlation Assets
A portfolio consisting mostly of bank stocks and utilities is considered relatively safe, whereas gold and gold stocks are generally considered risky. However, buying gold stock rather than another financial stock might in fact lower the risk of the portfolio as a whole.

Gold and gold stocks typically have a low correlation with interest-sensitive stocks and, at times, the correlation is even negative. Buying riskier assets with a low correlation with each other is the classic diversification strategy.

Reducing Benchmark or Active Risk
Which is considered the riskier portfolio: one that contains 100% U.S. Treasury bills or one that has 80% equity and 20% bonds? In absolute terms, T-bills are the definition of risk-free investment. However, an investor might have a long-term asset mix of 60% equity and 40% bonds as their benchmark. In that case, compared to their benchmark, a portfolio containing 80% equity will have less risk than one with 100% U.S. Treasury bills. For the investor who has all cash, they can reduce their risk relative to their long-term benchmark by purchasing the risky equity.

The risk that your investment will not match that of your benchmark is called tracking error or active risk. The greater the difference in performance between the two, the greater the active risk or tracking error.

One of the attractive features of index funds and ETFs is that they are meant to replicate benchmarks, thus reducing the tracking error to almost zero. Buying an ETF that matches your benchmark is always considered a safer investment than an actively managed mutual fund, from the perspective of benchmark or active risk.

Understanding Your Real Risks

Many investors consider doing nothing a less-risky strategy than making a decision. However, as John F. Kennedy said, "There are risks and costs to a program of action, but they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction." A safe investment portfolio of all cash will allow you to sleep at night, but can be considered a risky strategy if it falls short of meeting your objective.

In the long run, safe investments like bonds and cash will never protect an investor against the risk of inflation. Only by purchasing riskier investments like equities, commodities or real estate can an investor provide the protection they need against losing the purchasing power of their assets. In the long run, a portfolio of all safe investments will turn out to be too risky for protection against inflation.

Consider an American couple who lived in the U.S. all their lives, and then moved to Canada to retire. All the investments were left to be managed in a diversified portfolio of U.S. securities. Currently, all their expenses are in Canadian dollars.

They now have exposure to a weak U.S. dollar. By investing some of their assets in "riskier" Canadian securities, or by hedging the U.S. dollar with currency futures, they are providing protection against a weak dollar and making their portfolio safer.

The Bottom Line

Many investors look only at the risk of their individual securities, not at the combined effect on their portfolio. In fact, portfolios can be made safer by investment strategies that by themselves might be risky, but that in the context of the entire portfolio can make it safer.

This is especially true when confronted with the "real" risks that investors face long-term, such as inflation.

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Source: investopedia

61 percent of high-profile digital companies worldwide are investing in blockchain, according to a report by identity management firm Okta shared with Cointelegraph on April 2.

San Francisco-based enterprise identity provider Okta has released a survey on new trends in technological developments and business opportunities of the world’s largest companies.

In its first “Digital Enterprise Report,” Okta surveyed 1,050 IT, security and engineering decision makers from global companies with at least $1 billion in revenue. Okta explained that decision makers were defined as someone at the company who is “responsible for making technology purchasing decisions.”

The company collected survey responses in January and February 2019 in order to find out how businesses are applying emerging technologies.

According to the report, most decision makers have preferred to invest in the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, as 72 percent of survey respondents said they invested in IoT, and 68 percent claimed that they invested in AI.

With that, 61 percent of respondents revealed that they invested in blockchain, while 58 percent said they invested in augmented reality technology.

Percentage of investment in various emerging technologies by large companies. Source: Okta Digital Enterprise Report

Out of total 1,050 decision makers, 90 percent claimed that their companies are working on formal digital transformation and investing in at least one of the aforementioned technologies.

Recently, United States-based market research firm International Data Corporation predicted that global blockchain spending will account for almost $2.9 billion in 2019, which is an 88.7 percent increase from 2018.

Source: cointelegraph

Saudi Arabian investment firm Kingdom Holding will put the proceeds from the sale of its stake in ride-hailing startup Careem toward $600 million in investments in the kingdom and Europe, its chief executive told Reuters on Friday.

Kingdom, which is 95 percent owned by billionaire Price Alwaleed bin Talal, sold its stake in Careem this week for 1.25 billion riyals ($333 million). It will receive 565 million riyals in cash, plus convertible bonds in Uber Technologies worth 685 million riyals.

"We have five companies on the table that are being discussed, deliberated. Hopefully we will be able to come to a conclusion on where to invest within the next eight weeks," Talal Ibrahim al-Maiman said in a phone interview.

Some of the companies are in Saudi Arabia and some are in Europe, he said. "We're talking about $600 million or so."

"We will not deploy all the cash in one go, but this is the first tranche," he added. "It's a combination of debt and equity."

Kingdom's investments will be directed 70 percent into income-generating dividend-distributing investments and 30 percent into technology and potential growth companies, he said.

Kingdom was among the first investors in Careem, the Middle East rival of Uber, which acquired it this week in a $3.1 billion deal ahead of a hotly anticipated initial public offering.

Lyft, another Uber rival, was valued at $24.3 billion in the sector's first IPO on Thursday and shares opened up more than 20 percent on Friday. Kingdom has a 2.98 percent stake in the firm.

"If we assume exit, which we cannot of course because there's a lock-up period, we've made an IRR (internal rate of return) of 53 percent on Lyft," Maiman said.

"We've made almost 100 percent in Careem, so we've done very well. It's been really a good week for Kingdom."

Maiman said Kingdom would consider raising its investments in Lyft or Uber "if we see an opportunity there".

He added: "I think it would be a while before Lyft looks outside North America... but the Middle East would probably be one of the best international markets versus, for example, South America or the like."

Source: Reuters

العلاقات الاقتصادية السويسرية-المصرية بعد مرور 110 عاماً

شهد يوم 25 آذار/مارس الفائت حفلاً اقامته السفارة السويسرية في مصر بمناسبة مرور 110 عاماً على العلاقات المصرية- السويسرية بحضور وزيرة الاستثمار والتعاون الدولي المصرية سحر نصر و إيجنازيوكاسيس، وزير خارجية سويسرا، وسفير سويسرا في مصر بول جارنييه وتعكس رمزية الاحتفال تاريخية العلاقات بين البلدين التي تعود بدايتها الى عام 1908 حينما وقعت اول اتفاقية ذات طابع تجاري بين البلدين ليتلوها عدة اتفاقيات كان ابرزها في عامي 1930 و1950، كما تأتي هذه الاحتفالية الى جانب الزيارات المكثفة بين المسؤولين المصريين والسويسريين وكذا لقاءات وفود رجال الاعمال من كلا البلدين, تأتي لتعبر عن مدى اهتمام كلا الجانبين في تعزيز أواصل العلاقات الاقتصادية لاسيما بعد أن ثمرت الجهود المبذولة في السنوات القليلة الماضية توقيع عدة اتفاقيات اقتصادية لعل اهمها اتفاقية التجارة الحرة الموقعة في عام 2007 بين مصر و ورابطة دول الإفتا حيث تعتبر سويسرا العضو الاهم في الرابطة.

نقف في هذا المقال على تحليل حجم وطبيعة التبادلات الاقتصادية بين البلدين بعد مرور110 عاماً على العلاقات الاقتصادية المصرية-السويسرية في محاولة لاستشراف اتجاهاتها المستقبلية، بهدف الكشف عن الفرص الاستثمارية والتجارية المتاحة امام رواد الاعمال العرب-السويسريين وذلك من خلال استعراض التبادلات التجارية والاستثمارية بين البلدين.

التبادلات التجارية السويسرية-المصرية نمو وتنوع في الهيكل السلعي

عَرفت التبادلات التجارية المصرية-السويسرية تطوراً لافتاً خلال الأعوام السابقة، وذلك من ناحيتي تنوع الهيكل السلعي ونمو في حجم التبادلات التجارية. يظهر الشكل رقم (1) مسار تطور التبادلات التجارية منذ العام 2001 والتي ارتفعت من 206 مليون دولار في عام 2007 الى 826 مليون دولار في 2008 بمعدل نمو يفوق ال300%، وتعود النقلة النوعية في حجم التبادل التجاري بين البلدين مع بداية العام 2008 لدخول اتفاقية التجارة الحرة بين البلدين حيز التنفيذ، وقد استمرت التبادلات التجارية بين البلدين بالنمو لتصل الى اكثر من مليار دولار في عام 2017، وذلك بعد عودة الصادرات المصرية الى سويسرا للنمو بعد التراجع الذي أصابها بفعل الظروف السياسية في عامي 2013 و2014، كما شهدا عامي 2016 و2017 تغيرا نوعياً في الهيكل السلعي للصادرات المصرية، فبعد ان كانت صادرات الذهب الخام تستحوذ على اكثر من 85% من اجمالي صادرات مصر الى سويسرا في السنوات السابقة فإنها شهدت تراجعاً لحساب دخول السلع البتروكيماوية الى سلة السلع المصرية المصدرة الى سويسرا حيث احتلت الصادرات البتروكيماوية حوالي الـ 15% من اجمالي الصادرات المصرية الى سويسرا في عام 2017 فيما أصبحت الصادرات من الذهب الخام تستحوذ على حوالي 76%، ولا يعود دخول الصادرات البتروكيماوية المصرية الى طفرة في الاتفاقيات التجارية بل الى التطور الحاصل في الصناعات البتروكيماوية في مصر منذ العام 2015، اما عن الصادرات المصرية الأخرى فتتركز على المنتجات القطنية والسجاد وبعض السلع الغذائية، فيما تتركز الصادرات السويسرية الى مصر على الذهب المطلي بالبلاتين، والأدوية، والآلات والمعدات، وساعات اليد.

مصر فرص استثمارية كبيرة وبوابة سويسرا الى القارة الافريقية

بلغت عدد المشروعات السويسرية في مصر أكثر من 400 بحجم استثماري فاق المليار دولار وذلك في عام 2016 كما شهدت الاستثمارات السويسرية في مصر نموا مطردا بزيادة 400 مليون دولار خلال العامين الماضيين فقط، لتتحول مصر الى ثالث أكثر جهة مستقبلة للاستثمارات السويسرية في القارة الافريقية.

يظهر الشكل رقم (2) توزع الاستثمارات السويسرية في مصر من حيث القطاعات الاقتصادية، حيث يظهر القطاع الصناعي، والذي يبلغ حجم الاستثمار فيه حوالي 462 مليون دولار، مستحوذا على 42% من اجمالي الاستثمارات السويسرية في مصر يليه الاستثمار السياحي، والتي تحتل فيه سويسرا مركز رياديا على مستوى العالم، وقد بلغ الاستثمار فيه 246 مليون دولار بنسبة 23%.

القاريء الكريم: هذا المقال هو جزء من تقرير موسع حول العلاقات الاقتصادية السويسرية-المصرية. اذا كنت ترغب في الحصول على التقرير كاملا الرجاء الانضمام الى قائمة مشتركي نشرتنا الشهرية على الموقع.