Egypt’s industrial sector to record modest growth despite government push

Al-Monitor Pro Members

Marc Español 

Journalist covering Egypt and Sudan

Sep. 18, 2023

The Egyptian government announced on Aug. 30 that it had granted electronics giant Samsung a golden license to build a mobile phone factory in Beni Suef, south of Cairo, scheduled to be up and running in the second half of 2024. The decision to award the South Korean multinational a gold license, which allows companies to secure in one go all the permits required to work in the country, comes as Egypt seeks to streamline and accelerate the development of local manufacturing to ultimately narrow its negative trade balance. Several firms have already benefited from various government reforms over the past couple of years, yet fundamental obstacles and the current economic headwinds make the bid a challenging undertaking.