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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 9.4% year-on-year, and income from investments rose to $477m. There are 30 companies active in the market. Of these, 18 are property and casualty firms, while 10 are life and personal insurance groups, with the remaining two an export credit guarantee company and a cooperative insurance society. With insurance uptake low even by North African regional standards, there is ample room for growth. This chapter contains an interview with Ashraf Kadry El Sharkawy, Former Chairman, Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA).

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 sentiment, but just as importantly, the return to form displayed the bourse’s ability to attract capital when circumstances allow. In 2009 the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange was rebranded as the Egyptian Exchange (EGX). As of June 2012, 212 companies were listed on the exchange, with a nominal capital of LE150.1bn ($21.4bn) and market value capital of LE339.8bn ($48.4bn). Egypt’s ongoing political transition is the single biggest factor affecting the bourse’s performance, and until the prevailing unsettled economic backdrop has stabilised, it is unlikely that the EGX will show the type of sustained growth that its management and regulator have been working assiduously to engender. This chapter contains interviews with Mohamed Omran, Former Chairman, Egyptian Exchange (EGX); and a viewpoint from Hussein Choucri, Chairman and MD, HC Securities & Investments.

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 the subsequent turmoil has dramatically complicated attempts to overhaul or reform some of the more delicate issues facing Egypt’s economy. Recent political upheaval has adversely affected key sectors: tourism receipts fell by 29.6% in 2011 and FDI saw a net outflow, contributing -0.2% to GDP in the same year. With the IMF cutting its 2013 forecast for GDP growth to 2% and predicting unemployment to hit 13.5%, combined with the budget deficit reaching 11.8% of GDP in the first 11 months of the 2012/13 fiscal year, according to the Ministry of Finance, the challenge remains a significant one. This chapter contains interviews with Anis Aclimandos, President, American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt; and Walid El Nohazy, Executive President, Arab Mediterranean Free Trade Agreement (Agadir Agreement).

Under the Emerging Gabon initiative, the government is planning infrastructure investments in road, maritime and air transport. Among the priorities are improving connectivity between Libreville and the oil centre of Port-Gentil, as well as providing additional capacity on rail networks for mineral and passenger loads from the lesser developed interior of the country – both of which are needed, given the current state of linkages. The sector received a boost in terms of infrastructure in the lead-up to the Africa Cup of Nations in 2012, which sparked a flurry of road and aviation improvements prior to the competition. Despite some delays, transport projects are progressing, in many cases with the support of international lenders and donors, as well as the expertise of foreign contractors. This chapter contains an interview with Amadou Diallo, CEO of DHL Freight, Deutsche Post DHL.

The tax system in Côte d’Ivoire is based on the legislation that existed at the time of the country’s independence in 1960. It has since undergone several amendments intended to take into account the country’s economic and social evolution and budgetary constraints. A powerful and qualified tax authority enforces taxpayers’ obligations.