Egypt

Long a regional heavyweight, Egypt’s industrial sector boasts a variety of segments that have helped make the country one of Africa’s biggest cement producers and its second-largest steel manufacturer. Still, industry, in particular light manufacturing, has had to grapple with the turmoil that followed the 2011 revolution, in the form of issues such as labour unrest and a deterioration in the...

The Egyptian insurance industry is characterised by considerable competition on price, low market penetration and the continued dominance of the state-backed Misr Insurance. Total insurance premiums, including inward reinsurance and direct written premiums, rose to $1.57bn in 2011/12, an 8.7% increase over the previous year. Total investment by insurance firms amounted to $5.5bn in 2011/12, up 9....

Since the start of the nation’s political transition in 2011, Egypt’s capital markets have faced a number of challenges. Nevertheless, 2012 saw Egypt’s exchange recover the ground it lost in 2011, growing by 51% year-on-year to become one of the fastest expanding in the world. Its path to recovery has been a volatile one, which has demonstrated the influence of political events on market...

Economic reforms introduced beginning in 2004 have had a noticeable impact on the economy’s performance. In the three years prior to the global financial crisis, GDP growth averaged 7% per annum and FDI peaked at $13.2bn in 2007/08. However, the events of the past two years have underlined the fact that Egypt’s growth over the previous years has not been shared by all sectors of society, although...

Home to one of the oldest civilisations in the world, Egypt remains the most populous and one of the most influential countries in the Arab world. Over the past two years, a state of transition has become a more or less permanent feature of Egypt’s political scene. Popular protests starting on January 25, 2011 represented Egyptians from a wide spectrum of backgrounds and originated in calls...