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Egyptian billionaire and renowned businessman, Naguib Sawiris has defended the decision of his brother, Samih, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Orascom Development Holding Company, to suspend all investment activities in Egypt and relocate to Saudi Arabia.
"People should not assume bad faith in a family or in a person or individual like Samih or myself when we say something, (..) Today, many investors are afraid to come [to Egypt] because they do not know what the US dollar price will be tomorrow," Naguib said in a telephone interview with Al-Hadath Al-Youm TV channel, which he posted on his Twitter page.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230512-egypts-billionaire-naguib-sawiris-defends-brothers-decision-to-relocate-investments-to-saudi-arabia/
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Yes, it's an article from May 12, 2023 - but the smart money always flees first.
More recently (June 25, 2023) Naguib posted on his twitter account (speaking about Egypt 's economic misfortunes) “Public sector = loose money = corruption.”
https://twitter.com/NaguibSawiris/status/1673009454298669059
Bottom Line: Centamin has had plenty of time to diversify out of Egypt, but management sat on their hands and wasted shareholder funds hand over fist - the end could be sooner than shareholders think.
Hi Cowichan,
I'm back again as you are talking about Egypt :)
This article and the headline are completely misleading, incomplete and taken out of context..
The full interview with Mr Samih Sawiris is in this link..
https://arabic.cnn.com/middle-east/article/2023/05/03/samih-sawiris-inviestments-egypt-saudi-future
The reporter was talking to him about the dollar situation in Egypt, then she asked him (Have you stopped entering in new projects in Egypt for the time being due to the current dollar exchange rate/situation?)
He replied (Yes of course, I can't calculate any profits in this situation, so everyone is "waiting")..
Then, later in the conversation, she asked him (You showed interest before in Saudi Arabia.. Do you have any plans for projects in Saudi?)
He replied (Yes, I'm looking at a few things in Saudi and already in negotiations because Saudi is very promising and the recent development there is like a revolution because they have changed everything and it's up to date now and in a few years Saudi will be the biggest place for investment).. that's it!!
I can't see anything wrong with that.. a businessman found an opportunity for a few projects in Saudi Arabia.. that does not mean he is relocating.. Even football players are going to Saudi now because of the huge financial potential there.. it does not mean the premier League and La Liga are finished..
When Mr Naguib Sawiris started his gold company outside Egypt, this was not relocation.. it was an opportunity outside Egypt..
The 3 Sawiris brothers are by far the richest family in Egypt.. their huge projects and investments are everywhere.. they know how to make money in Egypt..
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Regarding (Public sector = loose money = corruption), Mr Sawiris was replying to someone asking him in a tweet (What are the reasons behind EgyptAir losses?)..
So his reply was because it is a public sector company with its finance not monitored which led to corruption.. He was not talking about (Egypt economic misfortune), and you could go back to the original tweet you posted..
You really need to take it easy on looking for something and blow it out of proportion to show that it's the end of Egypt and Centamin.. Of course there are many problems and negatives in both, I admit that, but it's not the end of days as you are making it..
One last question to you Cowichan.. what did you mean by (The end could be sooner than shareholders think) ?
Thanks for this healthy exchange which is useful for other shareholders and readers..
Siko
One more point in his interview... Mr Samih Sawiris said (Actually for my tourism projects in Egypt, I pay less expenses now because the tourists pay me in dollars, and I pay my expenses in Egyptian pound, and as the value of the Egyptian pound has halved, so it's costing me less dollars to pay for things like electricity).. and he was very happy for that..
Which is exactly what I said about Centamin.. it's income is in dollars, while many expenses are in Egyptian pound, so the company is actually paying less for many things..
Thank you for your balanced, honest posting.