Investors to the Stock Exchange: We demand direct oversight of the implementation of the new decisions
Engineer Khaled Hashem, Minister of Industry, launched the unified digital system to support manufacturers.
The system includes 9 various mechanisms for obtaining land, including the periodic offering of land every three months through the Misr Land Platform, renewing the lease ownership system, and stopping the 3-year requirement for disposing of industrial lands from mid-August until the end of 2026, stressing that the ministry aims to raise the number of industrial developers to 30 developers, which contributes to increasing competition, improving the level of services, and reducing the cost of industrial development.
For their part, investors who spoke to Al Borsa confirmed that the industrial sector is facing increasing pressure as a result of rising operating costs and declining competitiveness in some foreign markets.
Hisham Kamal, President of the Small Enterprise Investors Support and Development Association, said that the Ministry of Industry is involved in achieving the state’s goal of reaching the volume of exports to $140 billion by 2030, by improving the industrial sector, ending the problems of faltering factories, and providing land with an ownership lease system, which is what the sector hopes for.
He called for the intervention of Engineer Khaled Hashem, Minister of Industry, and to follow up on the implementation of these decisions on the ground, eliminate bureaucracy, measure the extent of the success of the initiative, or qualify the Industrial Development Authority to deal with the problems.
Kamal proposed establishing a small industrial city for every five villages, according to the governorate’s activity, whether agricultural or industrial, to ensure that the manufacturing process is completed from the beginning of the raw material to the final product within the governorate’s borders to reduce the cost of transportation, praising the decision to establish 100 factories in the productive villages.
Engineer Hassan Al-Shafi’i, Chairman of the Small and Medium Enterprises Committee of the Egyptian Businessmen Association, called for increasing the industry’s contribution to the gross domestic product to 25% compared to 12% currently, with support from the availability of the elements for increasing industrial production, technical personnel, land, and financing, which contributes to the equality of developed countries in industry, such as Türkiye.
He stressed that activating financing initiatives for small and medium enterprises will contribute to increasing their percentage of the gross domestic product, as they occupy a fixed percentage that does not exceed 20%.
He added that the private sector contribution rate since 2017 has reached 65%, but has declined to 40% currently, which has had a negative impact on small and medium enterprises that fall under the private sector.
Ayman Reda, Secretary-General of the Tenth of Ramadan Investors Association, praised the recent decisions and facilitations announced by the Ministry of Industry yesterday, to provide land and the mechanisms for offering it, adding that the decision will contribute directly to improving the investment climate and reducing financial burdens.
He added that offering lands every three months through the “Misr Lands” platform, and providing usufruct and the “lease ownership” system for a period of 21 years in exchange for a 5% down payment with the possibility of ownership at any time, will motivate manufacturers to operate their factories instead of stopping their activity.
Reda pointed out that the new mechanisms reduce the financial burden of the investor in the early stages of the project, which helps the investor direct capital towards purchasing machinery and equipment and covering operational expenses instead of purchasing the plot of land on which the project will be built, which accounts for the largest proportion of the costs.
He explained that the new decisions facilitated the trading of industrial facilities, as three years were required to pass and proof of seriousness was required before any disposal of the facility was permitted, while the current system allowed leasing after only one year.
He continued: “This step ensures the continuity of economic activity, if the project owner faces operational difficulties in the beginning, as he can rent the factory to another investor ready for operation, which protects the assets from freezing and stopping activity.”
Reda stressed that restarting facilities and facilitating rent will have a positive impact on the national economy by increasing production, exports, and production capacities, meeting the needs of the local market and exports, in addition to increasing tax and value-added tax collections.
