The Top Asset Classes or Types of Businesses Arab Gulf Investors Favor

Since the “corrective revolution” taken by President Anwar El-Sadat in the 1970s, the Egyptian economy reoriented itself toward a free-market model to attract investors from all over the world. Due to decades of cultural and historical ties, as well as geographic proximity, Arab Gulf investors filled up the void and the marketplace with their investments. In the nearly 50 years since then their role did not wax, but increased. Today GCC investors are still among the most important category of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Egyptian economy.

New Cairo and the New Administrative Capital Attract GCC Real Estate Investment

Between 2021 and 2023, investments by the GCC in Egypt exceeded $115 billion, with the UAE investment the highest for any single country at $75 billion, and Saudi Arabia with $30 billion. Almost all GCC investment companies or institutions have some sort of portfolio of invested assets in Egypt. The UAE for example has brought up many properties of former government locations in Cairo after the functions and the staff were relocated to the New Administrative Capital (NAC), which shows that high-end Egyptian real estate remains an attractive asset class for the Gulf.

In 2022, the residential sector attracted sixteen of the twenty billion US dollars of real estate investments made this year. The Greater Cairo area–which includes Central and New Cairo, Sheikh Zayed City, and the New Administrative Capital alongside parts of other governorates–are at the center of these investments. Greater New Cairo remains the preferred location for GCC investments, alongside the Red Sea and Mediterranean coasts.

GCC Investors form JVs in the Egyptian Energy Sector

And while real estate is the biggest asset class for GCC investors, there are still other sizeable investments that Gulf Arabs are interested in, such as the energy sector. The National Oil Company of Abu Dubai has formed ventures in Egypt to collaborate with other foreign and local companies to operate in the natural gas sector. The efforts of the UAE in the Egyptian economy are part of the Africa-focused investment policy of the UAE, which can include anything from risky investments in the Congo and Sudan to investments in far more stable Egypt. But overall, over $110 billion was committed by the UAE between 2019 and 2023 across Africa.

Fintech Remains a Major Bright Spot in the Egyptian Start Up Space

Other sectors include the banking and financial services. Due to the Egyptian bureaucracy and heavy banking restrictions across Africa, fintech and remittances platforms have been the hottest sector for start up and venture investments in recent years. Several Gulf investors have acquired stakes in traditional Egyptian banks as well.

Gulf Investors Also Favor the Health Care, Tourism and Hospitality Sectors of the Egyptian Economy

What comes next after that in the rankings is Tourism and Hospitality, where GCC investors invested in luxury hotels and resorts and other tourism related infrastructure. Another sector includes Agriculture, this has been mostly led by the UAE. Other prominent sectors include the Healthcare, Technology, and Telecommunication sectors. The GCC investors also are investing in Manufacturing and wish to have their own Industrial and Special Economic Zone within the very large Suez SEZ.

The Ras El-Hekma master planned community development along the Mediterranean coast by the UAE shows that there is a great and enduring interest by GCC investors in the Egyptian economy. With 115 million people and the third largest population in Africa, the Egyptian market is large enough to ensure reliable consumers, and the potential of this country is too great to remain underdeveloped.