Abu Dhabi: The Egyptian governorate of South Sinai is aiming to attract foreign investors as it showcases investment opportunities worth over 150 billion Egyptian pounds (Dh62 billion) in sectors that include hospitality, industrial, agriculture, and fishing.

On Tuesday, a delegation from South Sinai met with officials from the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry to discuss investment opportunities and ways of attracting UAE-based investors to Egypt, with the delegation having already visited other GCC countries.

Khalid Fouda, governor of South Sinai, said that while Egypt’s natural resources provide ample opportunities to attract foreign investors, he did not expect the devaluation of the Egyptian pound to do much to bring in more investors.

In March this year, the Central Bank of Egypt devalued the pound by around 13 per cent to the dollar. Just four months later, the Central Bank’s governor signalled there may be another round of devaluation soon when he said the Bank would focus on reviving the economy rather than stabilising the exchange rate.

“I don’t think the value of the pound will be what attracts foreign investment into Egypt considering the challenges facing the investment sector around the world.

“Today, any [foreign direct] investment around the world will go in the direction of political stability, and it will go to countries that have laid out clear economic plans. Egypt has already set out strong economic plans in order to attract such capital,” Fouda said.

He added, “I think the current view of Egypt is that Sharm Al Shaikh (part of South Sinai) is still an attractive destination to invest because the return on investment in tourism there, despite the hurdles the city is facing, is very high, reaching around 27 per cent, which is higher than returns in many other sectors.”

Fouda said that among the investment opportunities in tourism the delegation is showcasing is 100 billion Egyptian pounds (Dh41.4 billion) in a new city being developed spanning 25 million square metres and targeting the higher end of the tourism market.

He said such plans to attract investment to develop South Sinai are in line with Egypt’s targets to create 320,000 job opportunities in the governorate by 2030, and a total of 625,000 job opportunities by 2052.