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Why Invest in Egypt
Economic factors
Egypt has been a republic since 1953 and President Mubarak has been in place since 1981 and is now serving his fifth term in office, this was last voted in 2005. He is the leader of the ruling National Democratic Party and his presence fosters stability. Egypt has one of Africa’s most prosperous economies and is fortunate to have tourism, oil and gas to its advantage. The government of Egypt is committed to transforming the country’s economy through the promotion of foreign direct investment over the long term. As a consequence, it has recently introduced new reforms to customs, income and corporate taxations, while privatizing certain sector industries, and developing an export market for their natural gas deposits. Experts agree that all these efforts should improve the economy of the country, create more opportunity for employment and domestic wealth growth while increasing the attraction of Egypt for overseas investors. Egypt has experienced very strong economic growth in recent years, a situation that continues, with 2005 growth in GDP of 4.5%, divided on a population growth of 1.8% and rising year on year.
Property market
The property market in Egypt is still very much in its infancy and due to this the prices you will find are incredibly reasonable and is believed to be at the beginning of a boom. In the town of Hurghada you will find properties priced as low as 20,000 pounds but in the more upmarket 5 star are of Sahl Hasheesh prices are considerably higher but still incredible value for money. Within the Resort there is to be a Norman Foster designed Development which has prices over 10 times the price if its neighbours, this only adds confidence to the Red Sea area.        
The benefit of the this area is that you can freely buy property freehold unlike neighbouring Sharm El Sheikh where you may only obtain freehold, there is no capital gains tax and if you are a UK citizen then you can avoid inheritance taxes. Also in 2005 Egypt issued a decree “number 548” assisting non-Egyptians to invest in the tourist sector by abolishing a number of red tape procedures and streamlining investment procedures, An uncomplicated tax system with no inheritance or capital gains tax for foreigners are added incentives to Egyptian.
Accessibility
Egypt can be reached by direct flight from the UK within five hours and many carriers including British Airways, Thomson Fly and Excel Airways fly direct to Hurghada. The cost of flights is very reasonable and due to only being 2 hours ahead of GMT there is no need to worry about jet lag.
Climate
The warm desert climate in Egypt means that visitors enjoy temperatures ranging from 20 °C in winter to 30°C in summer, creating a year-round tourist season, ideal for investment in holiday rental property. The summer periods are hot and dry temperatures between May to October and the cooler winter period is between November to April. The only difference in the winter months is the temperature drops once the sun drops in the evening.
Tourism
Statistics released by the Egyptian Tourist Authority (ETA) state that over one million Brits visited Egypt in 2006, a giant 23% increase over 2005. Brits make up the largest chunk of Egypt’s overseas visitors and not only have they increased in number but also by the length of stay. British tourists stayed for a total of 9.1 million nights in 2006, that’s 21% more nights than 2005. The ETA also confirmed that a record 9.81 million tourists in total had added 7.6 billion dollars to Egypt’s economy in 2006. Tourism Minister, Zoheir Garranah, has no plans to rest on his laurels and with the launch of a multimillion pound advertising campaign at the back end of 2006 entitled “The Gift of the Sun” he hopes to attract 16 million visitors annually by 2014. Egypt also has a brand new tourism logo and official website www. Egypt. Travel in six different languages. The tourism market is now making a distinct shift towards the ‘high end’ with the Red Sea resorts taking centre stage. |
