The Euromoney Conference As part of the Egyptian Government’s efforts to develop the performance of the Egyptian Economy and attract more foreign investments, the Euromoney conference held on the 11th and 12th of September was inaugurated by the Prime Minister with a theme of “Financing Egypt’s Growth”. It included the participation of a large number of representatives from the International Business Financing Bodies as well as the Ministers of Investment, Trade and Industry, Finance and Telecommunications.   The conference deliberated the following issues over the course of two days:              Policies implemented by the government aiming at improving the investment climate have resulted in a continuous increase in FDI from 407 million USD in 03/04 to 3.9 billion USD in 04/05 reaching 6.1 billion USD in 05/06 with a target of attracting from 7 to 8 billion USD by the end of the current fiscal year. This trend was associated by deep-rooted change in the sectorial distribution of FDI underlined by a 60% share in the non-petroleum sectors. Moreover, the same period witnessed a strong flow of investments from new countries mainly China, India and Turkey.              An improvement of the major macro-economic indicators of the Egyptian economy as follows: Foreign reserves at the Central Bank increased from 14 billion USD in 1998 to 23.1 billion USD in July 2006, the inflation rate decreased to reach 4.1 %, real GDP growth rate increased to 6.1 % representing a 1.4 % rise compared to last year. This is associated with a control of the domestic debt as well as the implementation of policies aiming at reducing unemployment. Moreover, the surplus in the balance of payments reached 3.3 billion USD; and lastly, in spite of an increase in exports to reach 18.4 billion USD the trade balance deficit remains standing at 12 billion USD. This deficit is due to the increase in the importation of investment related and intermediate products.              The recent boom seen by the Egyptian economy is attributed to a strong base and it cannot be considered a bubble. Representatives from the UNCTAD and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) also assured the delegates that the Egyptian economy is not expected to suffer from reform fatigue given the government’s perseverance in the reform process and its establishment of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) especially in Mega-Projects. They also praised the revitalization of the privatization program and the elemental role played by the sectors driving economic growth namely telecom and IT, oil & gas, building and construction and tourism.             It is expected that in the next eight years, China will be Egypt’s major trading partner due to a fundamental shift in the commodities being traded between the two countries. As a result of agreements between Egypt and the outside world, exports to Europe increased by 46 % meanwhile QIZ exports to the US reached 170 million EGP. The FTA agreement with Turkey resulted in an increase of Turkish investments in Egypt especially in the Textile industry.             The continuous effort undertaken by the government to streamline and reform the banking sector through the Merger and Acquisition of several non-performing banks, in addition to the newly established tax and customs reform policies and the improvement in the performance of the stock exchange market while highlighting Egypt’s position as a major player in the Outsourcing industry.             The representatives of the major economic circles praised the deep-rooted and diversified reforms implemented by the Egyptian government and the continuous and ever-increasing improvement in the macroeconomic outlook, however they confirmed the necessity to continue engaging the private sector as well as the need for a complete restructure of energy subsidies.                         Egyptian officials reaffirmed their steadfast commitment to reform policy considering the achievements of the last period as a strong base that should build upon the recent improvement in the Egyptian economic performance.