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With assistance from Deloitte, Oxford Business Group delves into the details of Egypt’s tax laws.

Long the Arab world’s largest media market, Egyptian broadcast and print outlets often have an influence far beyond the country’s borders; Egyptian newspaper circulation accounts for more than 40% of the Arab world total. In the months since the 2011 revolution, a number of new independent outlets emerged – in television alone, there are some 16 new stations. Broadcast remains the most widespread medium, with household TV penetration at 96%. The 17 terrestrial channels are all state-owned, but the domestic private sector dominates the top 10 satellite channels. Meanwhile, advertising spend is recovering from a rocky 2011, when spending dropped 30%. Per capita spend is approximately $6.30, which is roughly one-third the regional average, although higher than many other countries. In terms of absolute size, however, the country is the third largest accounts for 11% of total advertising expenditures. Newspapers tend to accommodate for the majority of spend, followed by television. This chapter contains an interview with Sherif Wadood, CEO, Al Masry Media Corporation.

Over the past decade, Egypt has made significant progress in terms of improving education quality and outreach, thanks to an increase in private schools, new technical and vocational curriculum and greater local engagement. Public education is free and literacy rates for those between ages 15 and 44 in the 10 years from 1996 rose by almost 15%. However, underfunding, overcrowded classrooms and post-matriculation employability – which is especially acute in the face of high youth unemployment – remain a significant concern, particularly at the tertiary level. Egypt’s top-down state-driven model of health care has helped improve a number of health indicators, particularly in terms of infectious diseases and childhood mortality. Three decades worth of extensive reforms and significant public investment have helped expand capacity and accessibility, but childhood nutrition, insurance coverage and preventative care remain a concern, particularly with the rise in lifestyle diseases. This chapter features a dialogue with Lisa Anderson, President, American University in Cairo and Hossam Kamel, President, Cairo University.

The long-term fundamentals in Egypt are very attractive in just about every sector, and construction is no exception. In the wake of the revolution, a number of projects scheduled for 2012 were moved up to 2011, stimulating the economy but leaving a dearth of government approved projects for the future. With presidential elections having taken place, the construction sector in Egypt is now beginning to gear up for more work. However, while the first half of 2012 saw a revival in project activity, challenges for contractors include securing project financing and managing costs and cash flows until the political situation resolves itself and new private sector building opportunities grow. Large-scale demand and a shortage of supply in most segments has been the recent story of Egypt’s real estate sector. While the housing market is looking to have rebounded somewhat from the troubles it experienced in 2011, it seems possible developments in other areas may not have been as negatively impacted by the revolution as had been previously thought. The outlook for sales in planned communities was improving in the first part of 2012, with earnings from the first quarter showing a marked increase on numbers for 2011. This chapter contains an interview with Osama Bishai, Managing Director, Orascom Construction Industries (OCI); and a viewpoint from Mohamad Talaat, Member of the Management Committee, Helmy, Hamza & Partners (Baker & McKenzie).

Once considered the breadbasket of the Roman and Byzantine Empires, Egypt today continues to be an agricultural powerhouse. Rising domestic demand supports local producers, and it has also led to the country becoming a net food importer. Although aggregate cereal production reached 22.3m tonnes in 2011, a 9.3% increase on the previous year, domestic supply cannot meet demand, making Egypt the world’s largest buyer of wheat. Meanwhile, a number of export-oriented niches, including citrus fruits, are on the rise, and growers are now looking to move up the value chain. The largest agricultural export is citrus, with the country ranking 7th in the world in 2010 for orange production and 5th for tangerines, mandarins and clementines. However, the sector faces serious challenges, particularly shortages of land and water. Much farming is inefficient, due to fragmentation and a lack of technical development. This chapter contains an interview with Musa Freiji, Chairman, Wadi Group.

With exploration continuing apace, the country’s hydrocarbons reserves continue to rise, and currently stand at 4.3bn barrels of oil and more than 77trn cu feet of gas. The Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation plays the roles of regulator, joint venture partner, licence provider, refiner and marketer for the oil segment. Egypt has the largest refining capacity in Africa, with 10 oil refineries and an overall capacity of 975,000 bpd, but an expansion plan calls for another 600,000 bpd of capacity by 2016. Though the price of gas remains lower than that paid in Europe, Egyptian industries see their competition coming from the countries of the Arabian Peninsula. Egypt had intended to use its gas resources to generate employment, but has found that the industrial activities it has attracted are not creating jobs at the pace imagined. This chapter contains interviews with Peter Voser, CEO, Royal Dutch Shell; Hassan Younis, former Minister of Electricity and Energy; Giuseppe De Beni, Managing Director, Italgen.