Egyptian companies with investments in Sudan are considering several possible scenarios for dealing with the outcome of a 9 January referendum to be held in southern Sudan on proposed independence. It is widely expected that southerners will choose independence from the northern Khartoum government.
Company officials said results of the vote would in no way affect their investment decisions in both northern and southern Sudan.
Investment expert Sherif Sami said that Egyptian investment in Sudan was limited, noting that some investment projects had been completed and were now in the production stages, while others were still in their initial phases.
Sami went on to say that Egyptian investment in Sudan was concentrated in the south, but that most of these projects suffered from "obstacles and difficulties" in terms of money transfers and business transactions.
Egyptian investment in Sudan this year amounted to US$2.5 billion, compared to US$82 million for December of 2002–representing a 30-percent increase over a six-year period. Egypt is the third largest Arab investor in Sudan, while Sudan comes in at number 13 on the list of biggest Arab investors in Egypt, with total investments worth US$197.2 million in June 2008 according to Egypt's commercial representation office in Sudan.
Sami predicted that the current money transfer problems in Sudan would be resolved and that investment opportunities would become increasingly available in a variety of sectors–including infrastructure, roads and construction materials–in the event that the south chose secession. He went on to say that he did not expect civil war between the two sides in light of international efforts to reach a peaceful solution.
Egyptian investments in Sudan, he added, especially in the cement and real estate sectors, had met with success for the most part due to the high demand for investment in Africa's largest country.
Citadel Capital Managing Director Hisham al-Khazindar said his company was currently considering ways with which to deal with the possible outcomes of the January referendum, which could potentially affect its industrial, agricultural and business investments in the country.
According to al-Khazindar, Sudan and southeast African countries feature a number of exceptional business opportunities that are not available in Europe or Asia.
Egyptian investments in Sudan are currently in the industrial (70.5 percent), services (28.4 percent) and agricultural (1.1 percent) sectors. There are no available statistics on Egyptian investments in the Sudanese petroleum sector.
