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Egypt-U.S. Investment
According to official Egyptian statistics, the United States tops the list of countries investing in Egypt, accounting for 35.7% of foreign investment inflows in 2006/07. It is the largest petroleum and second largest non-petroleum, non-Arab, direct investor in the country. The stock of the U.S. direct investment in Egypt stood at $6.62 billion as of September 2007, representing 23.5% of U.S. direct investment in Africa during the same period..
Houston-based Apache Corporation, a large independent oil and gas exploration and production company, is now the largest American investor in Egypt, with total investments of $4.2 billion (as of December 2007). Apache produces 14% of Egypt’s total oil and gas output that generates $9 million a day net to Egypt. Apache’s operations are concentrated in the Western Desert, where the firm’s natural gas discoveries have played a significant role in helping Egypt to convert much of its thermal power generation capacity from oil to natural gas.
The stock of U.S. capital excluding petroleum production and refining totalled $1.95 billion, divided among some 585 companies-till end of 2007. Besides petroleum, U.S. firms are also active in manufacturing and service industries, contributing to both the domestic supply and export markets.
Manufacturing companies hold about 49% of the U.S. non-oil capital in Egypt, with engineering, pharmaceuticals and textiles as the top recipients. Top U.S. investors in these sectors include American Standard, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Coca-Cola, Colgate-Palmolive, ExxonMobil, General Motors, Gillette, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, PepsiCola, Pfizer, P&G, and Xerox, all of which are Fortune 500 companies.
Services are another important sector for U.S. investments in Egypt holding another 46% of the stock of U.S. capital in Egypt. During 2007 U.S. investments were particularly active in banking, contracting, health services, tourism, and petroleum services. Petroleum services skyrocketed in 2007 to reach $459.5 million or 50% of the stock of U.S. capital in services. Houston-based Bristow Group Inc, one of the world’s largest providers of helicopter services, is a major contributor to petroleum services while American Express, the Bank of New York, Ripplewood Holdings, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) are significant participants in the financial sector.
U.S. portfolio inflows were also on top of foreign portfolio investments in Egypt in 2007, reaching $4.5 billion or 55% of total inflows.
Leading Sectors for U.S. Exports and Investment
- Telecommunications Equipment and Services
- Petrochemical Industry
- Environmental Equipment and Services
- Oil and Gas Field Machinery Services
- Automotive Parts and Service Equipment
- Electricity and Power Generation
- Packaging Equipment
- Railroad Equipment
- Port Development Services
- Food Processing and Packaging Equipment
- Hotel and Restaurant Equipment
- Medical Equipment
- Educational Training & Equipment
(Last Updated May 7, 2008)
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*All of these corporations are AmCham member companies
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