Egypt : business support and investment

The Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation (MIIC) will oversee implementation. To help mobilize capital for long-term PI, Egypt"s CM Authority (CMA) will be helped to act as a development and not merely regulatory entity. CMA will launch an action program (follow-on to a 5/83 CM Conference funded under Project 2630042) aimed at: increasing the supply of and demand for securities in primary and secondary markets; modernizing the Cairo and Alexandria stock exchanges; introducing new financial legislation; establishing a CMA Companies Department; and monitoring observance of the recent Companies Law and Executive Regulations. CMA and private personnel will receive extensive training. Second, the Syndicate of Commerce Professions (SCP) will establish a financially self-sustaining accounting/auditing association which will provide professional training, certify accountants and auditors at all levels, and conduct research and gather client feedback to design and update professional standards. Long- and short-term overseas training will be provided for SCP and private personnel and key training materials will be translated into Arabic. To encourage foreign investment, GAFI"s capacity to formulate investment policies and to provide investor services such as inquiry and promotion facilities, data collection, policy analysis, and library services will be strengthened. The project will also help GAFI"s Free Zone Sector to improve and maintain physical infrastructure, reduce administrative and legal deterrents to investment, and improve productivity, e.g., by creating a management information system. Some 60 GAFI personnel will receive training. Fourth, a consultant will work with public and private entities (e..g, via surveys, workshops, and overseas study tours) to identify and implement activities needed to adapt Egyptian legal and financial structure to PI needs. Legal norms affecting PI will be compiled (and key norms translated); reports and proposals for further A.I.D. assistance will be prepared. Finally, the project will help fund short-term, client-specific TA, to be provided by the International Executive Service Corps (IESC), for some 130 Egyptian businessmen, in a broad range of industrial, technical, and managerial problems. Extensive TA will be provided in the above areas.