WB contributes to IT industry in Egypt

"Egypt is expected to receive more foreign investments during the coming period, especially in the communications and it sector," said Neimat Shafiq, World Bank (WB) Deputy Chairwoman for the Private Sector Development Affairs.

"In this context, the Egyptian government has adopted encouraging measures for attracting foreign investments in the field of IT and communications," she said.

The Egyptian market is now open after implementing major steps in the privatization programs and training the cadres for increasing the investments and productivity in this domain, she added.

"The WB is ready to extend the necessary finance, technical assistance and training to help Egypt realize a boom in this industry," she said, Noting that the WB allocates $ 1.5 billion annually for investment in the IT industry domain in the developing countries.

"Volume of finance needed for the infrastructure ventures in the Middle East region over the coming six (years) ranges between $ 300-350 billion, $ 50 billion of which are to be provided by the private sector," the WB official said.

The international finance institutions can also contribute $ 15 billion to the aforementioned projects, she added.

She also referred to the successful experience of the private sector in tapping new fields such as electricity, communications, water and sanitary drainage in Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia and Morocco.

Meanwhile, a recent WB report underlined that the Egyptian government has succeeded, to a great extent, in halting the implementation of any new projects that do not have enough financial resources with the aim of curbing its indebtedness.

"The government also managed to achieve real growth rates reaching 5.5 per cent during the first year of assuming responsibility, besides extending LE. 7.9 billion for supporting basic needs and offering financial support worth LE 100 million to the university students," the report said.