Introduction

Egypt is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia, via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. The capital, Cairo, is home to Ottoman landmarks such as Muhammad Ali Mosque. Egypt is probably the world's oldest civilization having emerged from the Nile Valley around 3,100 BC, historically. Egypt is probably one of the oldest vacation spots. With some 90 million inhabitants, Egypt represents 25% of the Arab population. Thirty percent (30%) of the population are among the age bracket of 15-24 years old. A rapidly growing population (the largest in the Arab world), limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress society. The government is challenged to meet the demands of Egypt's population through economic reform and massive investment in communications and physical infrastructure. Egypt, the African country, which has been a witness of many ups and downs economically in recent few years, and where things looked quiet shaky at one time, now seem to be coming back on track. Most experts believe that the future of Egypt now looks good and fruitful. Investing in Egypt can be a wise decision at this point of time, where Egypt seems to veil a lot of potential, which is said due to the largest consumer market the country has. Also, the location of Egypt is very favourable and the Egyptian economy is anticipated to grow in the near future as well. Egypt is home to a wide variety of animals and plants, including jackals, gazelles, crocodiles, and cobras. The best places to see Egypt's wildlife are in its more than 20 protected regions, which include oases, deserts, mountains, coastal areas, river islands, and wetlands.

Geography & Climate

Egypt lies primarily between latitudes 22° and 32°N, and longitudes 25° and 35°E. At 1,001,450 square kilometres (386,660 sq mi), it is the world's 30th-largest country. Nevertheless, due to the extreme aridity of Egypt's climate, population centres are concentrated along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta, meaning that about 99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the total land area. 98% of Egyptians live on 3% of the territory. Without the Nile River, all of Egypt would be desert. The narrow valley of the Nile is enclosed by cliffs as high as 550 m (1,800 ft) as the river flows about 900 km (560 mi) from Aswan to Cairo. A series of cascades and rapids at Aswan, known as the First Cataract (the other cataracts are in the Sudan), forms a barrier to movement upstream. Most of Egypt's rain falls in the winter months. In Cairo, average temperatures range from 14°c (57°f) in January to 28°c (82°f) in July. Relative humidity varies from 68% in February to over 70% in August and 77% in December. South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) per year and at intervals of many years. On a very thin strip of the northern coast the rainfall can be as high as 410 mm (16.1 in), mostly between October and March. Snow falls on Sinai's mountains and some of the north coastal cities such as Damietta, Baltim, Sidi Barrany, etc. and rarely in Alexandria. A very small amount of snow fell on Cairo on 13 December 2013, the first time Cairo received snowfall in many decades. Frost is also known in mid-Sinai and mid-Egypt. Egypt is the driest and the sunniest country in the world and most of its land surface is desert.

People & Culture

Egypt is a recognised cultural trend-setter of the Arabic-speaking world. Contemporary Arabic and Middle-Eastern culture is heavily influenced by Egyptian literature, music, film and television. Egypt gained a regional leadership role during the 1950s and 1960s, giving a further enduring boost to the standing of Egyptian culture in the Arabic-speaking world. The majority religion is Islam, of which the Sunnis are the largest sect. About 90 percent of Egyptians are Muslim, which means they are followers of the Islamic religion. About 10 percent of Egyptians are Copts, one of the oldest branches of the Christian religion. Other denominations represented include Armenian Apostolic, Greek and Syrian Orthodox, Catholics (including Armenian, Chaldean, Greek, Melkite, Roman, and Syrian), and a variety of evangelical Protestant denominations. The Baha'i faith is also represented. The Jewish community is extremely small. Children are highly valued in Egypt, especially in rural areas where they help on family farms. Children are also expected to look after their parents in their old age.

Economy

Economic conditions have started to improve considerably, after a period of stagnation, due to the adoption of more liberal economic policies by the government as well as increased revenues from tourism and a booming stock market. In its annual report, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has rated Egypt as one of the top countries in the world undertaking economic reforms. Some major economic reforms undertaken by the government since 2003 include a dramatic slashing of customs and tariffs. Egypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum imports, natural gas, and tourism; there are also more than three million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Europe. The Egyptian economy has been historically agricultural, with cotton as the mainstay. Land prices are extremely high because of the shortage of arable land, and output of food is not sufficient to meet the needs of a 1.9% population growth rate over the 2001-05 periods. Although Egypt has expanded its private sector in recent years, industry remains centrally controlled and for the most part government owned; since the 1950s, the government has developed the petroleum, services, and construction sectors, largely at the expense of agriculture. About 25 percent of the gross domestic product comes from industry and about 18 percent from agriculture.

BUSINESS SECTORS

Agriculture Sector

The agricultural sector is of critical importance to Egypt's economy and is a cornerstone of the country's economic recovery. The Egyptian economy has traditionally relied heavily on the agriculture sector as a source of growth and support for non-agricultural sectors. Development research across a broad array of countries suggests that rapid agricultural growth results in the quickest employment growth, so it is the best entry point for ensuring that economic growth is broadly participatory and hence equitable. Egyptian agriculture is almost entirely dependent on irrigation. More than 90 percent of Egypt is desert. The majority of agribusiness exports are targeted towards the Arab world with the leading export destinations being Saudi Arabia, Libya and Sudan. The main exports are tea, coffee, white chocolate, potatoes and frozen vegetables. With an annual growth rate of over 34%, the food processing subsector - the largest under the agribusiness umbrella - is one of the most dynamic and fast-growing sectors in the country. The large domestic market's high growth potential has attracted multinational investors who both cater to the local market and use Egypt as an export hub. The agribusiness sector accounts for nearly 21% of Egypt's total industrial production and is currently worth an estimated US$ 4.7 billion. There are some competitive benefits of Agriculture:

• Existence of well developed infrastructure.
• Availability of arable Land.
• Existence of water resources.
• Existence of huge consumer market for agriculture products.
• Liberalization of the agriculture sector.
• Availability of skilled labour.

Transportation

Transport in Egypt is centred around Cairo and largely follows the pattern of settlement along the Nile. The main line of the nation's 40,800-kilometer (25,400 mi) railway network runs from Alexandria to Aswan and is operated by Egyptian National Railways. The vehicle road network has expanded rapidly to over 21,000 miles, consisting of 28 line, 796 stations, 1800 train covering the Nile Valley and Nile Delta, the Mediterranean and Red Sea coasts, the Sinai, and the Western oases. There has been significant investment into the transport sector in the country. An efficient and resilient transport system is essential to support a dynamic business sector and a flexible workforce in the country with the largest population in the region, and with one of the highest population densities in the world in the Nile Valley In addition, a number of airport development projects, metro extensions, and numerous port expansion projects, improvement in road and rail networks are due to take place in the coming years. Some areas, such as Egypt's rail network, are in need of significant infrastructural improvement. Other subsectors, including ports and dry ports, offer investment opportunities in value-added services alongside large development projects. A recovering economy will create further demand for investment in the country's transportation network. Growth is expected across all sub-sectors in transportation, including rail, roads and import and export infrastructure.

Tourism

Tourism is one of the most important sectors in Egypt's economy. The tourism sector employs about 12% of Egypt's workforce. Egypt's history, its climate and its beautiful beaches have attracted large numbers of tourists, and tourism has become one of the most important sectors in the Egyptian economy. Although tourism in Egypt takes advantage of the many attractions it shares with its neighbours and many other countries in the Arab world, such as its warm weather, its sandy beaches and its culture. Tourism in Egypt can be divided into two basic types, although many visitors will wish to participate to a certain extent in both types of tourism when they visit the country. First, there is the historical or cultural tourism, which makes use of the many architectural attractions and the interest in Ancient Egypt. Second, there is the recreational tourism, which often involves beach holidays and cruises along the Nile. Egypt's tourism industry is among the most diverse and vibrant in the world. Although well-served by five-star properties, there is considerable room for investment in the three- and four-star hospitality segments. Other highly promising sectors include residential tourism, operating therapeutic tours, nature/desert safari, eco-tourism adventures and the like. Europe is the primary tourist-exporting market for Egypt, with Russian tourists accounting for the largest share of arrivals from a single country at 14%, followed by the United Kingdom and Germany at 9%.Rising prosperity in the Gulf has spurred growth in Arab tourist arrivals, and a growing number of Egyptians are vacationing within the country each year. There are some competitive benefits of Tourism:

• Development of existing tourism sectors like group tourism, beach tourism and cultural tourism through tightening of quality controls, capacity and infrastructure development
• Diversified tourism activities- Historical, health, sports, conferences and festivals
• Diversified nationalities - Egypt attracts worldwide tourist: Europe, Asia, Arab countries.

Textiles and Garments

The textile industry is one of the oldest in the world. The oldest known textiles, which date back to about 5000BC, are scraps of linen cloth found in Egyptian caves. Today, the textile sector in Egypt consists of well over 3,000 companies, ranging from the very small (employing less than 8 labourers) to the very large (greater than 20,000 labourers). These are both public and private sector companies. Processing of Cotton Based Textiles is processed through three main stages, comprising spinning, Knitting or weaving and wet processing. It is the second largest producing sector after agro-industry and the first in terms of jobs accounting for 30% of local employment. It accounts for 3% of the GDP, 30% of industrial output and around 13% of Non- Petroleum exports, according to the Central Bank of Egypt. Of the 25% of the industry focused on textile production, home textiles constitute 12% of the industry, and cotton yarn 8%, while the remaining 5% is attributed to other cotton fabrics and textiles. The majority of spinning (50%), weaving (60%) and hemming (60%) capacity is owned by the public sector while 90% of garmenting capacity is private. Egypt is home to the only fully vertically integrated textiles industry in the Middle East, with the entire production process - from the cultivation of cotton to the production of yarns, fabrics and ready-made garments - carried out domestically. The sector plays an extremely central role in the Egyptian economy.

Electricity and Renewable Energy

Egypt has a tremendous potential for renewable energy: the coastal areas on the Red Sea are among the world's finest wind regions and the vast desert areas in the country enjoy intense solar radiation. The Government, moreover, has supported the development of renewable energy for a long time. Energy is a critical element in Egypt's economic renaissance catalyzing broader private sector development. Achieving high sustained economic growth and improved standards of living across the country will lead to a corresponding increase in energy demand. With the expected depletion of natural gas reserves within the next 57 years, Egypt is an investor's dream when it comes to sustainable energy resources. Egypt possesses an abundance of land, sunny weather and high wind speeds, making it a prime resource for three renewable energy sources: wind, solar and biomass. Egypt is the only nation in the Middle East to date "that has allocated land specifically for development of renewable, with about 7,650 square kilometres which can host about 87 GW (54.3 GW PV and 32.7 GW wind projects). Egypt is making good progress towards becoming a significant player in the renewable energy industry. In recent months, positive steps have been taken to revive Egypt's stalling renewable energy industry.