The Madrid Chamber of Commerce promotes business investment in Egypt and Tunisia

Spanish companies have interesting opportunities in attractive markets, such as Tunisia and Egypt. Internationalisation is an important avenue for Spanish companies.

In this sense, the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services of Madrid has organised this Tuesday a virtual conference to present the investment possibilities for Spanish companies in the Egyptian and Tunisian markets. The programme, which has been supported by the Community of Madrid, the Madrid City Council and CaixaBank, has served to learn about future opportunities for the internationalisation of national companies in both economies, one of the determining factors in reactivating the economy and promoting the development of Spanish companies.

The panel was made up of the director of the Tunisian Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA) for Spain and Portugal, Ibrahim Medini; the commercial director of companies at CaixaBank, Mar Santana Rollán; the economic and commercial advisor for Spain in Egypt, Eduardo Soriano Izquierdo; the commercial attaché at the Spanish Economic and Commercial Office in Tunis, Rosa María Gutiérrez García; the head of the MEDAFOM area service in Financial Promotion of Internationalisation, Nuria Santos Morais; the director of the CaixaBank office in Egypt, Luis Aspe Sagarna; and the treasurer of Revenga Ingenieros, José Antonio Díaz-Obregón. The event was moderated by Miguel Bufalá, the Chamber's international coordinator.

In the opening block, introduced by the CEO of the Instituto Superior de Derecho y Economía (ISDE), Juan José Sánchez Puig, the speakers provided details about the current business situation in both countries. Medini himself was in charge of presenting Tunisia, highlighting the importance of foreign investment in Tunisia, as well as in the rest of the states affected by the pandemic, as an essential path to recovery. The IFAP director acknowledged the adaptation of Tunisian legislation, reducing regulation, in order to boost foreign investment.

Medini also pointed out that Tunisia is the first North African country to sign a free trade agreement with the European Union. Mar Santana Rollán, CaixaBank's commercial director for companies, warned of Spain's limited presence in the Egyptian and Tunisian markets, and added that CaixaBank maintains links with other entities, such as the Portuguese bank BPI, to support and facilitate commercial agreements for all those Spanish companies that have funds in the entity.

During the presentation, the members discussed the impact of COVID-19 in both Egypt and Tunisia, as well as the authorities' reaction to it. First, Tunisia has recorded 224,000 total infections and 13,107 deaths since last March. Current restrictions are limited to quarantine periods for positives and a 50% reduction of capacity in shops and establishments. Moreover, the vaccination campaign is progressing slowly, with only 660,000 of the total 100 million Egyptians having received at least one dose.

Tunisia, for its part, has recorded a total of 302,000 infections since the start of the pandemic - more than Egypt, with 90 million fewer inhabitants - and 10,352 deaths. The vaccination campaign is progressing somewhat faster, with 386,000 Tunisians having received at least one dose. However, restrictions have been tightened for Ramadan with curfews.

Throughout the conference, the speakers interpreted the situation in both states as favourable. Regarding the political panorama, undoubtedly a determining factor with an influence on the economy, the members praised the long-term stability that both Tunisia and Egypt represent in a particularly unstable region. Both markets are, according to the members, two emerging economies with a bright future for Spanish companies. 

The case of Egypt is evident, as it is the leading economy in North Africa with a GDP of 303 billion dollars and with favourable IMF forecasts. The bilateral relationship with Spain is excellent, as in 2008 the two delegations signed a memorandum of understanding on financial cooperation, which expires at the end of this year. The opportunities for national companies in Egypt include, as Spain's economic and trade adviser in Egypt has stressed, investment in the project for the new administrative capital, 45 km from Cairo, investment in transport and in renewable energies.

The case of Tunisia is less viable, although it is the fifth most competitive economy on the continent despite the crisis generated by the pandemic. Since the revolution, Tunisia has grown economically at an average rate of 1.7 per cent despite its high public deficit, and remains Spain's sixth-largest supplier and fourth-largest European and world client. Spain's presence is centred on the agri-food, energy, textile and industrial sectors. Finally, the director of CaixaBank's office in Egypt, Luis Aspe Sagarna, pointed out that one of the weaknesses of both countries is the existence of very restrictive central banks that allow little flexibility to other privately-owned banks.